Sanas of Big Shot

[Daniel Cassidy]

Big Shot
Big Seo/d, Big Sead  (pron. shod )
A Big Chief, Hero,  or Warrior.

Seod, al. sead (pron. sh’od): A jewel. Often used figuratively: a  hero, a
valiant man, a chief, a warrior. A wealthy person.  (Dwelly p.  808)

ERIE: “ I told him I knew all the Big Shots. Well, so I do, most of ‘em, to
say hello, and sometimes they hello back. Who wouldn’t know ‘em that hangs
around Broadway and the joints.          (Eugene O'Neill, Hughie, pp. 283-284)

Big Shot is often used in a deprecatory sense in the Irish American
community. The NY-Irish Big Shot after the Civil War was John "Old Smoke"  Morrissey,
Five Points gang leader,  world-heavyweight champion boxer,  Tammany and
anti-Tammany Congressman, Ward Heeler of Heelers, and Ard Ri/  (High King) of the
Fiaradh (Turning) Game Brace (breith as)  House,.

Note: this is not a big seod etymology,  just a humble little  shot (seo/d,
jewel) in the ancient linguistic light of Irish and  Scots-Gaelic. That's me
seo/d tonight.

Pax

Daniel Cassidy
The Irish Studies Program
New College of California
San Francisco
1.21.05