big cheese

big cheese
Meaning
The most important person.
Origin
Derived in the USA, via the UK, about 1890. The Urdu word for thing is chiz. The British brought home the expression 'the cheese' for 'the main/best thing' and it crossed the Atlantic as 'the big cheese'.

Meaning and origin of phrases. 2013.

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  • Big Cheese — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda « Big Cheese » Sencillo de Nirvana del álbum Bleach Publicación Noviembre de 1988 Formato LP …   Wikipedia Español

  • big\ cheese — • big cheese • big gun • big shot • big wheel • big wig noun slang An important person; a leader; a high official; a person of high rank. Bill had been a big shot in high school. John wanted to be the big cheese in his club. Compare: whole cheese …   Словарь американских идиом

  • big cheese — UK US noun [C] INFORMAL ► an important person in a company or an organization with a lot of influence: »He left business school and became a big cheese in the City …   Financial and business terms

  • big cheese — The big cheese is the boss …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • big cheese — n informal [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: cheese probably from Urdu chiz thing , from Persian] an important and powerful person in an organization used humorously …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • big cheese — noun count INFORMAL an important or powerful person …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • big cheese — ☆ big cheese n. [see CHEESE2] Slang the most important person …   English World dictionary

  • big cheese — noun an important influential person he thinks he s a big shot she s a big deal in local politics the Qaeda commander is a very big fish • Syn: ↑big shot, ↑big gun, ↑big wheel, ↑big deal, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • big cheese — or[big gun] or[big shot] or[big wheel] or[big wig] {n.}, {slang} An important person; a leader; a high official; a person of high rank. * /Bill had been a big shot in high school./ * /John wanted to be the big cheese in his club./ Compare: WHOLE… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • big cheese — or[big gun] or[big shot] or[big wheel] or[big wig] {n.}, {slang} An important person; a leader; a high official; a person of high rank. * /Bill had been a big shot in high school./ * /John wanted to be the big cheese in his club./ Compare: WHOLE… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • big cheese — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms big cheese : singular big cheese plural big cheeses informal an important or powerful person …   English dictionary

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