Dictionary

fat cat en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

The phrase was first used in the 1920s in the United States to describe rich political donors. By the middle of the 20th century, the term was being applied more widely to any wealthy individual.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:originally, slang) A rich person who contributes to a political campaign.
2. (derogatory, slang) Any affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labor of others; and/or not to care about those of lesser means.
   • For entirely self-serving reasons, ministers and civil servants never dispelled the public belief that uncaring 'fat cat' privateers or foreign state railways were in control, ramping up fares and creaming off profits which either enriched shareholders or subsidised European rail fares. DfT left train operators to 'take the heat' - which they dutifully did, fearful of speaking up and 'biting the hand that feeds'. 2020 September 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: We MUST seize the moment”, in Rail, page 3:
   • In America, where we moralize our money and monetize our morals, fat cats who go bust tend to be viewed as cautionary figures, singular exemplars of malfeasance, not routine casualties of the fickle system that exalted them in the first place. 2020 October 23, Walter Kirn, “The Cautionary Tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork”, in New York Times:
   • A staggering 57% of American workers believe there is a very real chance they will be unemployed in the next 5 to 7 years. But what does that matter to a bloated millionaire fat-cat like you? 1997, John Brancato and Michael Ferris, The Game (motion picture), Daniel Schorr (actor):
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fat, cat.

Forms

Synonyms

big money man · angel

Translations (20)

pt peixe grande (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · fi kiho (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · pl gruba ryba (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · fi porho (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · it profittatore (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · pl tłusty kot (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · pl szycha (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · pl bogaty sponsor polityczny (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · pt cachorro grande (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · fi pohatta (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · kmr kedxwer (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · it pesce grosso (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · es pez gordo (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · cs zazobanec (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · de Bonze (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · fi pohatta (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · cs papaláš (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · cmn 肥貓 /肥猫 (rich person who contributes to a political campaign) · cmn 剝削者 /剥削者 (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others) · it sfruttatore (affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others)

wikipedia: Frank Kent