Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 22:45:20 +0000 From: Ceri Davies <ceri@submonkey.net> To: "Gary W. Swearingen" <underway@comcast.net> Cc: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: More trivia: origin of the wheel group Message-ID: <20031222224520.GK652@submonkey.net> In-Reply-To: <u0oeu090x4.eu0@mail.comcast.net> References: <3FE500F4.3060108@potentialtech.com> <o9vfo9930c.fo9@mail.comcast.net> <3FE63E95.2020201@potentialtech.com> <3FE646A3.6080907@cream.org> <u0oeu090x4.eu0@mail.comcast.net>
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--AJu7IxIPovG6hMTN Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Mon, Dec 22, 2003 at 10:12:39AM -0800, Gary W. Swearingen wrote: > Andrew Boothman <andrew@cream.org> writes: >=20 > > The only place I can remember hearing the term, "big wheel", before is > > in a Simpson's episode where Milhouse describes his dad as a, "big > > wheel down at the cracker factory", or something like that! >=20 > I wonder if that shouldn't have been "big wheel down at the cheese > factory". >=20 > But that's exactly how the term is most often used -- referring to > a high-level executive. >=20 > I very much doubt if the term started with, or was even popularized > by, the Big Wheel tricycle which came out in the mid '60s, but I don't > know for sure. It'd sure be nice to have an OED or other etymological > reference book. My Cassell's Dictionary of Slang says that "big wheel" originates from the 1930s: big wheel n. [1930s+] an important, influential person, esp. in business. [the image of a smooth-running, powerful machine] I seem to remember a reference somewhere stating that the term was due to the fact that only important people could afford horse-drawn carriages, but I can't cite (or find) it at the moment. Ceri --=20 --AJu7IxIPovG6hMTN Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.3 (FreeBSD) iD8DBQE/53QAocfcwTS3JF8RAnJRAJ0eGQbJBH8iDYftA5/T/08+kkgiMwCghIjL Tlo9F+1xkXw0ZVa41/uoXGE= =Rtqt -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --AJu7IxIPovG6hMTN--
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