pooh-bah
noun ( often lowercase )
1.
a person who holds several positions, especially ones that give him or her bureaucratic importance.
2.
a leader, authority, or other important person: one of the pooh bahs of the record industry.
3.
a pompous, self-important person.
Also, Pooh-Bah, poobah.
Origin:
1880–85; after a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, who holds all of the high offices of state simultaneously and uses them for personal gain
1880–85; after a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, who holds all of the high offices of state simultaneously and uses them for personal gain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To pooh-bah
00:10
Pooh-bah
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Pooh-Bah (ˈpuːˈbɑː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a pompous self-important official holding several offices at once and fulfilling none of them | |
| [C19: after the character, the Lord-High-Everything-Else, in The Mikado (1885), a light opera by Gilbert and Sullivan] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
Pooh-Bah
1888, name of the "Lord High Everything Else" in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" (1885).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
Pooh-Bah definition
A self-important person of high position and great influence. Pooh-Bah is a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta The Mikado; his title is Lord-High-Everything-Else.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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