pooh-bah

  • 1Pooh-Bah — [po͞o′bä΄] n. 〚after Pooh Bah, a character in Gilbert & Sullivan s The Mikado (1885) /span> POOH1 + BAH〛 Informal an official or leader who maintains full control as by holding several offices * * * Pooh Bah …

    Universalium

  • 2Pooh Bah — /pooh bah /, (often l.c.) 1. a person who holds several positions, esp. 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… …

    Universalium

  • 3pooh-bah — [ˈpu: ba:] n informal [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: Pooh Bah, character with the title Lord High Everything Else in the operetta The Mikado by W.S.Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan] someone who is important or powerful used to show that you do not respect… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 4pooh-bah — [po͞o′bä΄] n. [after Pooh Bah, a character in Gilbert & Sullivan s The Mikado (1885) < POOH1 + BAH] Informal an official or leader who maintains full control as by holding several offices …

    English World dictionary

  • 5Pooh Bah — /pooh bah /, (often l.c.) 1. a person who holds several positions, esp. 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… …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 6Pooh-Bah — 1888, name of the Lord High Everything Else in Gilbert and Sullivan s The Mikado (1885) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 7Pooh-Bah — /ˈpu ba/ (say pooh bah) noun (also lower case) a pompous person, especially an official. {from the character Pooh Bah, the Lord High Everything Else, in Gilbert and Sullivan s opera, The Mikado (1885) …

  • 8pooh-bah — n. (also pooh bah) a holder of many offices at once. Etymology: a character in W. S. Gilbert s The Mikado (1885) * * * (also poo bah) /ˈpuːˌbɑː/ noun, pl bahs [count] often disapproving : a person who has a lot of power or influence an annual… …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 9pooh-bah — also poo bah noun Usage: often capitalized P&B Etymology: Pooh Bah, character in Gilbert and Sullivan s opera The Mikado (1885) bearing the title Lord High Everything Else Date: 1888 1. a person holding many public or private offices 2. a person… …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 10pooh-bah —  Person who holds many offices at once, from the character Pooh Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado …

    Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors