muckamuck

plural muckamucks · alternative muck-a-muck · alternative muckety muck · alternative muckety-muck · alternative muckey-muck · alternative mucky-muck · alternative mucky muck

1. colloquialcountablederogatorysometimesA person in a position of power or authority, or of high status.

   Allen had the wit—God, I love that man when he's at his best—to invite all the new Kennedy muckamucks to an evening with a number of us at the Alibi Club.

   1991, Norman Mailer, Harlot's Ghost, Random House, →ISBN, page 915

   2 more examples

   I think it was the Fourth of July when they took the chair from under my ass again. Not a word of warning. One of the big muck-a-mucks from the other side of the water had decided to make economies; […]

   1934, Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer, Grove Press, published 1961, page 191

   “Good Heavens! The pictures are moving!” “That's a movie. It's where tweens go to get fingered.” “It's beautiful.” “Yeah. Wish we could go to a movie right now.” “Well, why don't we go?” “Really?” “I assume it's better than listening to this muckamuck.”

   2016 June 6, Teresa Hsiao, “Garfield and Friends” (9:32 from the start), in American Dad!, season 13, episode 19, spoken by James A. Garfield (Chris Parnell)

   Synonyms: baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise

2. USdateddialectalpossiblyuncountableFood.

   She apparently has her own way in everything now, the old chief being quite satisfied to get his rations of muckamuck and tobacco without troubling himself as to how it is provided.

   1884, Newton H. Chittenden, Official report of the exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands, page 69

   1 more example

   But old Halascum once, under the mellowing influence of having sold some furs, and seeing the great quantities of muckamuck, or goodly things to eat, which his prize had furnished, was led to tell the mystery […]

   1906, The Coast, volumes 11-12, page 160