Bigfoot

name

Etymology: August/September 1958, originally Big Foot, big + foot, relating to the large size of its supposed footprints relative to human footprints.

1. A very large, hairy, humanoid creature, similar to the yeti, said to live in the wilderness areas of the United States and Canada, especially the Pacific Northwest.

   “This imprint was made either Wednesday night or early Thursday morning by "Big Foot".”

   “Stories of “Bigfoot,” an eight-foot denizen of the forest in Northern California’s wild Trinity County, are among the main topics of conversation in that area. He is supposedly an Indian or half-breed who has reverted to an animal existence. A footprint believed to be his was measured by a Redding shoe store owner and found to be size 24!”

noun

1. Alternative letter-case form of Bigfoot, a hairy hominid.

   “I mean, for the love of the Force, he's a bigfoot with a gun; how come he's not the baddest badass in the Empire? Instead we get a walking carpet who sucks at board games and has a fetish for restraints.”

2. A person with a big footprint; a prominent person, especially a journalist.

   “And he's living a pundit’s dream by being frequently cited—not just by fellow bloggers, but by media bigfeet.”

   “Along with other media bigfeet, I chatted up Rummy and C.I.A. chief George Tenet, both of whom were in on the secret of the capture of Saddam a few hours before.”

verb

1. To control or manage forcefully; to exercise authority over.

   “Most recently, Allen bigfooted Walter out of the way to explore a merger with SBC Communications, Inc., the largest of the regional Bells.”

   “"Joel is out to get the best and brightest. It is his team to build," Walcott said, his comments appearing to reject speculation that Bloomberg was bigfooting the deputy search.”

2. To behave in an authoritative, commanding manner.

   “Later, Dick Cheney was Bigfooting around the West Wing, looking for heads.”