Master of the Universe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Masters of the Universe
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).
Senses: examples: text: 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!
ref: 1849, William Francis Lynch, Narrative Of The United States Expedition To The River Jordan And The Dead Sea:
text: 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.
ref: 1879, James Darmesteter, “The Supreme God in the Indo-European Mythology”, in Littell's Living Age, volume 143, number 1845:
text: To God, the Supreme Master of the universe, our Creator, the All Holy, All Good, we owe honour, service, obedience, and love.
ref: 1913, Catholic Encyclopedia, Duty:
topics: lifestyle
religion
glosses: God
examples: text: First, by them made obstinate by the onetime masters of the universe.
ref: 1557, Edgar Leoni, transl., Epistle to Henry II, translation of original by Nostradamus:
text: 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
ref: 1845, Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo:
text: They felt themselves lords and masters of the universe, with power over life and death.
ref: 1953, Fidel Castro, History Will Absolve Me:
synonyms: word: baron
word: big cheese
word: big enchilada
word: big gun
word: big kahuna
word: big man
word: big name
word: big noise
word: big shot
word: bigwig
word: big wheel
word: boss
word: grand poobah
word: head honcho
word: heavy hitter
word: heavyweight
word: high muckamuck
word: high muckety-muck
word: king of all one surveys
word: king of the castle
word: king of the hill
word: kingpin
word: macher
word: mayor
word: muckamuck
word: muckety muck
word: mugwump
word: numero uno
word: poobah
word: rooster
word: somebody
word: top banana
word: top cat
word: top dog
word: top gun
word: very important person
word: VIP
word: wheel
glosses: A powerful person.
examples: text: 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!
ref: 1987, Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, page 12:
text: 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.
ref: 2007, Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 1:
text: 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.
ref: 2008, Boris Johnson, Conservative Party Conference:
text: 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.
ref: 2010 June 2, Henry Samuel, “Vivendi Universal's 'Master of the Universe' Messier trial begins”, in The Daily Telegraph, retrieved 13 Jul 2010:
topics: business
finance
synonyms: word: baron
word: big cheese
word: big enchilada
word: big gun
word: big kahuna
word: big man
word: big name
word: big noise
word: big shot
word: bigwig
word: big wheel
word: boss
word: grand poobah
word: head honcho
word: heavy hitter
word: heavyweight
word: high muckamuck
word: high muckety-muck
word: king of all one surveys
word: king of the castle
word: king of the hill
word: kingpin
word: macher
word: mayor
word: muckamuck
word: muckety muck
word: mugwump
word: numero uno
word: poobah
word: rooster
word: somebody
word: top banana
word: top cat
word: top dog
word: top gun
word: very important person
word: VIP
word: wheel
glosses: A highly successful business person.