[Ads-l] "big cheese" 1815

[Baker, John]

The New Zealand example is authentic, at least in the sense of being accurately quoted and cited (except that “Ken” should be “Ken.” – presumably an abbreviation for Kenneth).  The scan is available online at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/observer/1885/09/05/4.  The quotation is one of a number of gossipy items with allusions that now seem vague and uncertain and, I suspect, seemed the same way to most readers when they were originally published.  It is unclear whether “big cheese” means an important person, a literal big cheese (which on the whole seems to me to be more likely), or something else.  For reference, Green gives it as follows:

1885      [NZ]       Observer and Freelance (Wellington) 5 Sept. 4/2: What attraction is there for Ken at the manager’s? Is it to see that big cheese?

The Scottish example seems to me to be more contemporary in tone than I would expect for something written in 1815, but I am hardly in a position to express a knowledgeable view.  Again, it reads as follows:

8.12.15 Ballater Hse. From Wm Farquharson of Monaltrie. I've sent my seal
and my tartan sample I'll give to you in Edinburgh. Nobody's prouder than
me to be a Highlander particularly since Waterloo. I'd love to sign the
address. I'm a constituent member of the Highland Soc for Scotland. My
seal's 180 yrs old. We're the oldest clan name. My writing room is
furnished in Farquharson tartan. I did a real in the Garb at the Highland
Soc of London in 1793. Some parvenus seek to share my honour as a Big
Highland Cheese. I'm starting a masonic lodge here.

John Baker

From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2023 5:00 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "big cheese" 1815

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Need I add that I'm skeptical of both the Scottish and Kiwi exx.?

Especially since "Big Highland Cheese" includes a very unusual tmesis,
which seems to suggest that "big cheese" was already lexicalized and
familiar.

Just my 2c.

JL

On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 3:51 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com<mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>>
wrote:

> FWIW, big cheeses were sometimes a big deal.
>
> 1802 The Wasp (Hudson, N.Y.) (July 31) 2: The following Toast, drank [sic]
> by the Cheshire folks, who made the big Cheese [sic] for Mr.
> Jefferson....May the splendour of the Republican SUN continue to eclipse
> the twinklings of the Western Lightning Bug.
>
> 1828 Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Phila.) (Nov. 14, 1828) 3: "A
> BIG CHEESE. The Berkshire American states that Mr. Israel Cole, of North
> Adams, has made a "hundred pound cheese to be presented to Jackson in case
> he was elected President."
>
> 1885 Buffalo [N.Y.] Evening News (Nov. 7) 4: "FREE SHOW!" The Two Big
> Cheese [sic] CITY OF BUFFALO, 3398 lbs., VILLAGE OF AURORA 3394 lbs., Are
> now on exhibition at our store.
>
> JL
>
> On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 2:14 PM Steven Losie <stevenlosie at gmail.com<mailto:stevenlosie at gmail.com>>
> wrote:
>
>> In case nobody has seen it, Green's Dictionary of Slang cites an 1885
>> newspaper article in New Zealand for "big cheese":
>>
>> [begin quote]
>> What attraction is there for Ken at the manager’s? Is it to see that big
>> cheese?
>> [end quote]
>> Source: Observer and Freelance (Wellington, NZ) 5 Sept. 1885 p.4/2
>>
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>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>


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