big top
n. The main tent of a circus. The circus.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
big top
- n.
a circus tent; the circus, in general. : And now, one of the greatest acts under the big top.
- mod.
having to do with the circus. : One big top experience is enough to last me a lifetime.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Idioms & Phrases
big top
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The main tent of a circus, as in The high-wire act is almost always in the big top. [c. 1840]
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Underworld slang for a maximum-security prison, as in He was sentenced to ten years in the big top. [1950s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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