big fish
29
3.6
- noun
- Informal
- You always want to be a big fish in a small pond.
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Watch on YouTubeBut if you don't and you go be a big fish in a small pond, you're robbing yourself of that opportunity to really explore the fullest capacity of your potential.
- But if you don't and you go be a big fish in a small pond, you're robbing yourself of that opportunity to really explore the fullest capacity of your potential.
Examples
-
And right away I was a big fish in a small pond, you know, as opposed to being lost in Manhattan.
-
Well, the Yeomanry was a big fish of village society.
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In short, the laws go after the little fish, not the big fish.
Blog text (30) -
He's a very big fish for our company.
-
Goldman is the big fish here.
Blog text (20) -
He had gone from being a big fish in a small pond to being nobody.
Fiction book (2000) -
A large part of the current economic crisis is the lack of private investment by the wealthy big fish, which makes more funds available to all the little fish.
Blog text (34) -
And we know you're targeting a big fish to cover losses.
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Well, they say that LA attracts big fish from little ponds.
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Professor Eileen Munro is a big fish in the field of social policy, influencing many important decisions.
Synonyms
91
3.5
A famous and important person or group in one area
79
3.9
A person who is important and powerful in a job or field
54
6.7
A person who is very important and powerful in a group
37
6.8
A very important event, thing, or person that matters a lot
34
7.0
The most important person who controls a group or activity
34
3.8
A person or company that has a lot of power in a field
32
5.1
An important person with power in a company or field
26
4.0
A very important and influential person in a field
25
3.8
An important person who is treated as successful or powerful
17
6.9
An important person with power in a company or group
16
8.1
An important person who makes key decisions for a group
15
4.9
A person who has a lot of power and influence in a field
14
2.5
A person with great power or status who gets special treatment
10
5.3
A person who is very important in a group or company
9
6.3
A person who is in charge of a company or group
8
9.5
A very important person in a group or organization, often the most powerful
2
5.6
An important person who has a lot of power in a group
2
7.5
A person who is in charge of a group and makes the main decisions
1
7.7
The most important person in a group or organization
1
8.6
An important person with power in a group or area
A very large and powerful company or group that dominates its field
Antonyms
How Important
- Literature
16
7.0
- Informal
79
3.9
- Informal
29
3.6
4
6.5
- Offensive
7
6.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
big + fish
The adjective 'big' clearly signals size or prominence, so a learner who knows 'big' and 'fish' can plausibly infer a metaphorical meaning of importance (i.e. an important person). However, 'fish' does not literally denote a person and the metaphorical mapping (animal → influential actor) is figurative and not fully predictable without exposure; cross-linguistic support exists in some languages but is variable. Therefore the expression is partially transparent but requires some idiomatic knowledge.
Etymology
The idiom big fish may come from the picture of a big fish in a small pond, because the large fish stands out and controls the others, so people used it to talk about someone important in a group. That's why it means 'an important or influential person'.