big enchilada
1
8.6
- noun
- /bɪɡ ˌɛnʧɪˈlɑːdə/
- Informal
:
pez gordo
Examples
-
If I answer that question you keep asking... if I give you the name of the big enchilada, you know... then it's bon voyage, Deano.
-
Everyone knows that the CEO is the big enchilada in this company, making all the important decisions.
-
At the conference, the big enchilada of the tech industry gave a groundbreaking speech about future innovations.
-
If you want to succeed in this field, you need to impress the big enchilada who can open doors for you.
Synonyms
126
4.0
A very important and influential person in a field
91
3.9
A person who is important and powerful in a job or field
57
4.5
A person, team, or organization that is very successful and able to influence others
43
3.5
A famous and important person or group in one area
37
3.8
An important person who is treated as successful or powerful
35
6.8
A very important event, thing, or person that matters a lot
33
7.0
The most important person who controls a group or activity
29
3.8
A person or company that has a lot of power in a field
22
6.9
An important person with power in a company or group
14
3.6
An important person in a group or organization who has power
12
4.9
A person who has a lot of power and influence in a field
9
5.1
An important person with power in a company or field
9
6.3
A person who is in charge of a company or group
8
5.3
A person who is very important in a group or company
5
7.1
A person with an important job in an organization
4
9.5
A very important person in a group or organization, often the most powerful
2
6.7
A person who is very important and powerful in a group
1
8.1
An important person who makes key decisions for a group
1
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
5.6
An important person who has a lot of power in a group
1
8.2
A very large and powerful company or group that dominates its field
1
8.9
An important person in charge who people call jokingly
Antonyms
How Important
- Literature
33
7.0
- Literature
14
7.0
- Informal
1
8.6
- Informal
22
6.9
533
4.5
5
4.1
4
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
big + enchilada
Although 'big' can signal importance, the noun 'enchilada' is a food item and does not naturally designate a person; the figurative sense 'an important/influential person' is an English-American slang metaphor that cannot be derived from the literal meanings. This cultural, idiomatic extension requires prior exposure, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not predict the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase big enchilada comes from Mexican food: one popular story says people used the image of a very large enchilada as the main dish at a meal to mean the most important thing. So when people call someone the big enchilada, they mean 'an important or powerful person'.