grand fromage
1
8.9
- noun
- /ɡrænd frɔːˈmɑːʒ/
- Informal
:
gran jefe
- Whenever there is a major project, the team always consults the grand fromage for approval.
Examples
-
I'm the grand fromage
-
As the CEO of the company, she is considered the grand fromage in all important decisions.
-
In our department, he is the grand fromage, and everyone listens to his advice.
Synonyms
22
6.9
An important person with power in a company or group
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
4
9.5
A very important person in a group or organization, often the most powerful
1
8.1
An important person who makes key decisions for a group
1
8.6
An important person with power in a group or area
1
9.9
A person in charge at work who makes decisions
1
9.9
A person who has a lot of influence behind the scenes without an official role
1
7.9
A person in charge whom people jokingly call very important
A person who leads a team and makes most decisions
A joking name for a person who has great power in a group
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
grand + fromage
The phrase is a French calque using a non-English word ('fromage' has no dictionary entry here), and the link from 'cheese' to an important person is idiomatic rather than compositional. Even if a learner knew 'grand' and recognized 'fromage' as 'cheese', mapping that to 'big cheese' → 'important person' requires cultural/idiomatic knowledge, so the meaning is not directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Grand fromage comes from French and literally puts together grand meaning 'big' and fromage meaning 'cheese'. Picture a large wheel of cheese at the head of a table acting like the boss, and that's why grand fromage is used humorously to mean 'an important or powerful person'.