Honcho

//ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Boss, leader. informal

    "Says they had no choice. Says the NVA killed the old honcho when he said no. Now he says all the rice is theirs."

  2. 2
    a person who exercises control over workers wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To lead or manage. Canada, US, informal, transitive

    "I had never honchoed that many people so even something as simple as ordering them to knead dough or fondant became an important decision."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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.

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