master plan

master plan (plural master plans)

1. A comprehensive document that sets out an overall strategy; the strategy itself.
   • 1969, “The Creator Has a Master Plan”, in Karma, performed by Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas:

     The creator has a master plan / Peace and happiness for every man

   • 2014 July 22, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Tuesday, Jul 22, 2014:

     "Of course, this wasn't part of some master plan. I impulsively used my vast power to do something nice without thinking it through. And then something I didn't expect happened. Even though I should have expected it."

   • 2023 May 10, Elie Dolgin, “Scientists Unveil a More Diverse Human Genome”, in The New York Times‎:

     Dr. Eric Green […] likens the pangenome to a new kind of bodywork manual for automotive repair shops. Whereas before, every mechanic only had the design specs for one kind of car, now there is a master plan that covers different makes and models.

   • 2024 March 20, Chris Howe, “High speed underneath the Chilterns...”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 33:

     The master plan for the site includes 3.3km of new surfaced and unsurfaced walking routes, more than 1km of new bridleways and cantering routes, and retention of the 2.3km Old Shire Lane bridleway.

2. (architecture) A small-scale graphic outline that shows all the major elements of a project.

• parlaments