top brass
11
5.7
- noun
- /tɑp bræs/
- Informal
:
altos mandos
- Listen, I have to speak to the top brass.
But what you also discover is my top brass Joint Chiefs of staff.
- But what you also discover is my top brass Joint Chiefs of staff.
- If you can be removed by the trustees, you are vulnerable or whatever mechanism exists for replacing the the top brass.
Examples
-
The top brass of the army, the air force, and the police are all slavishly loyal.
Academic text (2010) -
Of course, such moves will require firm support from Hu and the rest of China's top brass.
Academic text (2008) -
Apparently top brass felt I was too close to the project.
-
Only the top brass knew.
-
"Several of our more important clients are known only to the top brass of the bank.
Fiction book (1998) -
Get interviews with all the top brass involved.
-
The delegates to the conference were the top brass of the World Air Force.
-
I have noticed the military top brass have been falling like flies under this administration.
Blog text (26) -
The top brass grew angry with him but were stunned by the complexity of escalating societal problems.
Academic text (2002) -
The colonel wants to show the system to the top brass next month.
Synonyms
514
3.8
Group of people who are in charge of an organization
85
5.9
Senior leaders in an organization who make major decisions
9
4.8
A group of top leaders who have the most power in an army or organization
The main group of leaders who make top decisions for an organization, often military
Antonyms
How Senior
Surface Forms
Morphology
The component 'top' clearly signals the highest rank, but 'brass' here is a metaphorical/slang sense (senior leaders) that is not transparently derivable from the literal metal meaning. If a learner already knows the figurative sense of 'brass' the phrase becomes predictable, but a B1 learner who only knows the literal word would likely not infer the idiomatic meaning, so partial transparency is appropriate.
Etymology
Top brass may come from the military, where important officers wore shiny brass badges and buttons on the top of their hats and uniforms. So, Top brass now means the 'most important people' or leaders in a group.