top of the greasy pole
- idiom
- Literature
:
cima de la competencia
- Many politicians are willing to do almost anything to climb to the top of the greasy pole.
Examples
-
It's a challenge to stay at the top of the greasy pole once you've made it there.
-
After years of hard work, she finally reached the top of the greasy pole in her company.
-
Reaching the top of the greasy pole is not easy!
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Many politicians aspire to reach the top of the greasy pole.
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After years of hard work and dedication, she finally reached the top of the greasy pole in her company.
-
Climbing to the top of the greasy pole in politics often requires both skill and a bit of luck.
-
Many ambitious individuals dream of reaching the top of the greasy pole in their careers, but few manage to get there.
Synonyms
3
4.6
The most important position with the highest priority
1
7.7
The most important person in a group or organization
1
5.5
The highest job or status in a company
1
5.6
The highest level of success in a job or field
In a position of power or importance in a group
How Prestigious
- Literature
116
5.6
8
2.3
683
1.0
1
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
top + of + the + greasy + pole
The constituents are individually transparent — 'top' = highest and a 'greasy pole' evokes something slippery and hard to climb — so a learner can infer difficulty and the idea of reaching a pinnacle. However, the specific idiomatic reading as the coveted highest position in a competitive sphere (especially politics/business) and the conventionalised metaphorical use are not fully predictable from the parts nor cross-linguistically obvious, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Top of the greasy pole may come from fairs where people tried to climb a very slippery greasy pole to reach a prize at the top. So the phrase now means the 'highest and very hard to reach position' in politics or business.