panjandrum
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panjandrum
- /pænˈd͡ʒæn.dɹəm/ UK, US
Where it comes from
Coined as a nonce word in the 18th century by British dramatist Samuel Foote.
noun panjandrums · panjandra · Panjandrum
-
An important, powerful or influential person; muckamuck.
1755, Samuel Foote, The Grand Panjandrum (a nonsense poem written to test actor Charles Macklin's claim that he could accurately recite any paragraph of text after a single reading),
So he died, / and she very imprudently married the Barber: / and there were present / the Picninnies, / and the Jobli
Similar: baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise, big shot, bigwig, big wheel, boss
- A self-important or pretentious person. You can never imagine how delighted I was to find that instead of being the correct sort of big panjandrum you were supposed to be, you were really an old rip like papa.
- A massive, rocket-propelled, explosive-laden cart designed by the British military during World War II. The Panjandrum lurched and overturned, the crash dislodging several of the rockets, which flew low over the beach in all directions […].
Translations
Every language
noun important, powerful or influential person
| 中文 | 大人 dàrén |
|---|---|
| Français | ponte, manitou |
| Deutsch | hohes Tier |
| Italiano | pezzo grosso |
noun self-important or pretentious person
| Italiano | arrogante, presuntuoso, presuntuosa |
|---|
Talk about this word "panjandrum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/panjandrum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. panjandrum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/panjandrum "panjandrum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/panjandrum.Cite this
@misc{panjandrum_2026,
title = {panjandrum},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/panjandrum},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
