big enchilada
American Heritage Dictionary:
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big enchilada
or Big Enchilada
n. Slang
n. Slang
- One who is in charge: "[the President's] big enchilada on both foreign and domestic policy" (Mary McGrory).
- Something of the highest value or importance: "[The team] won the big enchilada in 1980 and 1982" (Scott Ostler).
[On the model of such expressions as big cheese.]
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
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big cheese
Also,
big shot or gun or wheel or enchilada. An important, powerful person; the boss. For example, She loved being the big cheese of her company; the big guns in Congress are bound to change the President's bill; you'd better not act like a big shot among your old friends; Harry was the big wheel in his class; and You'll have to get permission from the big enchilada. The first term dates from the late 1800s and its origin is disputed. Some think it comes from the Urdu word
chiz or cheez for "thing," but others hold it plays on the English word "chief." Big gun is much older, dating from the early 1800s;
big shot became very popular in the late 1920s, particularly when used for underworld leaders of gangsters;
big wheel dates from about the same period. Big enchilada, often put as the big enchilada, is the newest, dating from the early 1970s.
Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang:
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big enchilada
noun
noun, orig US
= big shotnoun . (1973 —) .
noun, orig US
= big shot
| big deal, big daddy, big cheese | |
| big fish, big girl's blouse, big gun |
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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