thebig housen. a state or federal peni-
tentiary. It’s either go straight now or
spend the rest of your life in the big house.
Two years in the big house is like two
years in a custom-made hell.
big ironn. a large, mainframe computer.
(Computers. See also iron.) We’ll have
to run this job on the big iron over at the
university. What kind of big iron do
they have over there?
big Johnn. the police; a police officer.
Big John is going to have to deal with you.
Big John took her in and hit her with a
vice rap.
big juicen. a big-time crook. (See also
juice.) Marty’s big juice now that he’s
got himself a gang. So, you’re the big
juice around here.
big kahunan.the important person; the
knowledgeable authority on some mat-
ter. (From the Hawaiian word for
“priest.” Sometimes capitalized.) Joe
is the big kahuna around here when it
comes to predicting stock market prices.
Here comes the big kahuna. He thinks he
knows everything.
big league 1. n. a situation where compe-
tition is keen and a high level of perfor-
mance is expected. (Usually plural. Re-
ferred originally to major league sports.)
In the big leagues you’ve got to know
what you’re worth. You’re in the big
leagues now—no more penny-ante stuff.
- and big-leaguemod. professional; big
time. (From baseball.) He works for
one of the big-league accounting firms.
When I’m a big-league star, I’ll send you
free tickets.
Big Mac attackn. a sudden and desperate
need for a Big Mac sandwich, a product
of the McDonald’s restaurant chain. (Big
Mac is a protected trade name of Mc-
Donald’s.) I feel a Big Mac attack com-
ing on! I just can’t fight off a Big Mac
attack.
big man on campusn. an important male
college student. (See more examples at
BMOC.) Hank acts like such a big man
on campus. Let some big man on cam-
pus do the dirty work for a change.
big mouth 1. n. a person who talks too
much or too loudly; someone who tells
secrets. (Also a term of address.) Okay,
big mouth! Shut up! Tell that big mouth
to shut up. 2. tv. to spread secrets around.
Why do you always have to big mouth
everything around? Don’t you big
mouth this, but I’m going to have a baby.big name 1. n. a famous and important
person. Lots of big names were there
lending their support to the cause. One
of the big names invited for the event can-
celed out at the last minute. 2. and big-
namemod. famous; important. Some
big-name star I’ve never heard of was there
pretending to serve dinner. The big-
name ballplayers make millions.big noise 1. n. an important person. If
you’re such a big noise, why don’t you get
this line moving? She’s the big noise in
Washington right now. 2. n. the important
current news; the current scandal.
What’s the big noise around town now?
There’s a big noise up on Capitol Hill.
Something about budget cuts.big-O.n. opium. The big-O. is making a
comeback, I hear. Most of the users of
big-O. died out thirty years ago.big of someone 1. mod. magnanimous of
someone. That is really big of you, Fred.
It was big of Tom to come back and
apologize. 2. mod. nice of someone. (Of-
ten sarcastic.) A whole pound. Wow,
that is really big of you! Three daisies he
gave me! “Oh, that’s big of you!” I said,
batting my eyes.big shot and bigshot 1. n. a very impor-
tant person. So, you really think you’re
a big shot. I’m no big shot, but I do have
a little power around here. 2. mod.
mighty; overbearing; overly-important.
If you think that a big shot title im-
presses me, you’re wrong. Your bigshot
ideas are getting us nowhere.big spendern. someone who spends a lot
of money. (Often sarcastic.) The big
spender left me a whole quarter tip! It’s
the big spenders who get themselves into
money trouble.big house