| 释义 |
Pooh Bah|puː bɑː|
Also with lower-case initials.
[Name of a character in W. S. Gilbert's Mikado.]
A person who holds a large number of offices at the same time. Also in extended use, a person or body with much influence or many functions; a self-important person. Also attrib. Hence Pooh-ˈBahism.
1888L. D. Powles Land of Pink Pearl 77 To the first of these [vacancies] the Governor appointed an English jeweller, named Brown, to the second one of the local ‘Pooh Bahs!’ named Crawford. 1923Westm. Gaz. 4 May 1/6 (heading) Pooh-Bah Role for Local Bodies. 1927M. Terry Through Land of Promise 44 Although principally protectors of aboriginals, stock inspection, mining wardens' responsibilities and a host of other offices make them a collection of veritable ‘Poo-Bahs’. 1949F. Swinnerton Doctor's Wife comes to Stay 163, I do a bit of painting, myself; enough to take the boys in art. You see, we're so short-handed—’ ‘Good God! You must be the Pooh Bah of this school.’ 1956Newsweek 7 May 59/2 TV Pooh-Bahs expect this year's giveaway shows to reach a total handout of $8 million. 1962S. E. Finer Man on Horseback xi. 187 In his Pooh-bah capacities as Prime Minister, Minister of War and Marine, Commander-in-Chief and Military Governor of Egypt, Neguib's power now rested on two pillars, the military and the civilian. 1964C. Duffy Wild Goose & Eagle xii. 175 In a magnificent display of Pooh-Bahism Francis Stephen, as Emperor, supported strictness and vigilance, but in his capacity as Grand Duke of Tuscany protested against interference with vessels on their peaceful way from Tuscan ports to Genoa. 1972W. A. Pantin Oxford Life v. 65 In the late eighteenth century a serious moral case..would now be dealt with by the Hebdomadal Board, that all-purpose, constitutional Pooh-Bah of the period. 1972Publishers' Weekly 13 Nov. 16/1 His first book..was a tough, illuminating picture of what happens in the surgical wards of a metropolitan hospital, and it did not exactly endear him to the pooh-bahs of medicine. |