honcho
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L322002 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/ / /ˈhɒn.tʃəʊ/
noun
Etymology: From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 /班长 (bānzhǎng, “team leader”). Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as hanchō.
- Boss, leader.
“Says they had no choice. Says the NVA killed the old honcho when he said no. Now he says all the rice is theirs.”
“For years, snobbery has been a hallmark of this city of wealth and glamour, movie stars and entertainment honchos, where it is possible to spend $20,000 for a watch, $6,000 for a suit with 14-karat gold pinstriping or $15,000 for a handbag of rare leather.”
verb
Etymology: From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 /班长 (bānzhǎng, “team leader”). Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as hanchō.
- To lead or manage.
“I had never honchoed that many people so even something as simple as ordering them to knead dough or fondant became an important decision.”
“The task of choosing the clips that comprised the allotted 10 minutes in the bake-off was left to the supervising sound editor, as it was he or she who honchoed the preparation of the soundtrack for the rerecording mixing stage in the first place.”