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Fact Box Level: 5.022 Tokens: 383 Types: 188 TTR: 0.491 |
Expressions and Identities
Some expressions describe people who are important or who at least think they are. One such expression is "bigwig". In the 17th century, important men in Europe began to wear false hair called wigs. As years passed, wigs began to get bigger. The size of a man's wig depended on how important he was. The more important he was or thought he was, the bigger the wig he wore. Some wigs were so large that they covered the man's shoulders or back. Today the expression "bigwig" is used to make fun of a person who feels important. People never tell someone he is a bigwig. They only use the expression behind his back.
"Big wheel" is another way to describe an important person. A big wheel may be the head of a company, a political leader, a famous movie star. They are big wheels because they are powerful. What they do affected many people. Big wheel gives the orders and other people carry them out. As in many machines, a big wheel makes the little wheel turn. "Big wheel" became a popular expression after World War II. It probably comes from an expression used for many years by people who fit parts of the cars and trucks. They said a person whirled a big wheel if he was important or had influence.
A "kingpin" is another word for an important person. The expression comes from the games of bowling. The kingpin is the No. One pin. If it is hit correctly by the bowling ball, the kingpin will make all the other nine pins fall. And that is the object of the game. So the most important person in a project or business is the kingpin. If the kingpin is removed, the project or business is likely to fail. Kingpin is often used to describe an important criminal or the leader of a criminal gang. A newspaper may report, for example, that the police have arrested the suspected kingpin of a car stealing operation.
Short Answer Questions
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