Dictionary

Master of the Universe en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

The "highly successful business person" sense is derived from Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line and media franchise, which was launched in 1982. It was first used as such in the 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (see quotations).

Meanings

1. God
   • To God, the Supreme Master of the universe, our Creator, the All Holy, All Good, we owe honour, service, obedience, and love. 1913, Catholic Encyclopedia, Duty:
   • Constantine inscribed these words on the pedestal:— Oh Christ! king and master of the universe, I consecrate this humble tower, this sceptre, and the power of Rome, to thee! 1849, William Francis Lynch, Narrative Of The United States Expedition To The River Jordan And The Dead Sea:
   • Svarogu, the god of the ancient pagan Slavs, should no doubt equally be placed. Like Zeus, like Jupiter, like Varuna, like Ahura Mazda, he is the master of the universe, the gods are his children, and it is from him that they have received their functions. 1879, James Darmesteter, “The Supreme God in the Indo-European Mythology”, in Littell's Living Age, volume 143, number 1845:
2. (idiomatic) A powerful person.
   • I have told you, where the air is pure, where every sound soothes, where one is sure to be humbled, however proud may be his nature. I love that humiliation, I, who am master of the universe, as was Augustus 1845, Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo:
   • They felt themselves lords and masters of the universe, with power over life and death. 1953, Fidel Castro, History Will Absolve Me:
   • First, by them made obstinate by the onetime masters of the universe. 1557, Edgar Leoni, transl., Epistle to Henry II, translation of original by Nostradamus:
3. (idiomatic) A highly successful business person.
   • No matter how much you may dislike the Masters of the Universe, my friends, there are plenty of other parts of the universe that would welcome them. 2008, Boris Johnson, Conservative Party Conference:
   • They had their suit jackets off, and at this hour of morning—9:20 a.m.—they were leaning back in their seats, reading their Wall Street Journals, and congratulating themselves on being young Masters of the Universe. 2007, Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 1:
   • The Masters of the Universe were a set of lurid, rapacious plastic dolls that his otherwise perfect daughter liked to play with. […] On Wall Street he and a few others—how many?—three hundred, four hundred, five hundred?—had become precisely that. . . Masters of the Universe. There was . . . no limit whatsoever! 1987, Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, page 12:
   • The man who once boasted he was "master of the universe" for making Vivendi a global media giant arrived in less triumphant fashion on Wednesday – through the back door of a Paris court. 2010 June 2, Henry Samuel, “Vivendi Universal's 'Master of the Universe' Messier trial begins”, in The Daily Telegraph, retrieved 13 Jul 2010:

Forms

Synonyms

top cat · very important person · big noise · numero uno · panjandrum · big wheel · top cat · bigwig · top banana · big kahuna · macher · big enchilada · heavyweight · king of the hill · muckety muck · high muckamuck · king of the hill · panjandrum · top boy · VIP · heavyweight · baron · bigwig · VIP · wheel · top gun · king of all one surveys · wheel · kingpin · big shot · grand poobah · poobah · somebody · heavy hitter · macher · big man · big cheese · top dog · muckety muck · grand poobah · muckamuck · poobah · big cheese · mugwump · top boy · head honcho · big gun · big wheel · big gun · big man · mugwump · big name · mayor · mayor · very important person · king of the castle · top gun · somebody · heavy hitter · kingpin · big kahuna · boss · head honcho · muckamuck · big noise · high muckety-muck · rooster · high muckamuck · numero uno · big enchilada · boss · top dog · baron · top banana · rooster · king of the castle · big shot · king of all one surveys · high muckety-muck · big name