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Meaning of "Pooh-Bah" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD POOH-BAH

After the character, the Lord-High-Everything-Else, in The Mikado (1885), a light opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF POOH-BAH

Pooh-Bah  [ˈpuːˈbɑː] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF POOH-BAH

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Pooh-Bah is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES POOH-BAH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Grand Poobah

Grand Poobah is a term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. In this comic opera, Pooh-Bah holds numerous exalted offices, including "First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Chief Justice, Commander-in-Chief, Lord High Admiral... Archbishop of Titipu, and Lord Mayor" and Lord High Everything Else. The name has come to be used as a mocking title for someone self-important or high-ranking and who either exhibits an inflated self-regard or who has limited authority while taking impressive titles. The formal term for the practice of holding multiple offices is "dual mandate".

Definition of Pooh-Bah in the English dictionary

The definition of Pooh-Bah in the dictionary is a pompous self-important official holding several offices at once and fulfilling none of them.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH POOH-BAH


Akbar
ˈækbɑː
baa
bɑː
baba
ˈbɑːbɑː
bah
bɑː
bar
bɑː
Castlebar
ˌkɑːsəlˈbɑː
debar
dɪˈbɑː
disbar
dɪsˈbɑː
Dunbar
dʌnˈbɑː
durbar
ˈdɜːbɑː
embar
ɪmˈbɑː
isba
ɪzˈbɑː
minibar
ˈmɪnɪˌbɑː
oba
ˈɔːbɑː
outbar
ˌaʊtˈbɑː
Sabah
ˈsɑːbɑː
sidebar
ˈsaɪdˌbɑː
toolbar
ˈtuːlˌbɑː
unbar
ʌnˈbɑː
Zanzibar
ˌzænzɪˈbɑː

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE POOH-BAH

Pool Malebo
pool player
pool table
Poole
pooler
poolroom
pools
poolside
poon
Poona

WORDS THAT END LIKE POOH-BAH

Abdullah
ah
Allah
ayah
cheetah
dah
Deborah
Hannah
hookah
lah
Leah
noah
rupiah
Sarah
Savannah
shah
Susah
Utah
yah
yeah

Synonyms and antonyms of Pooh-Bah in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «Pooh-Bah» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF POOH-BAH

Find out the translation of Pooh-Bah to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of Pooh-Bah from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «Pooh-Bah» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

呸,呸
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

Pooh - Bah
570 millions of speakers

English

Pooh-Bah
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

पूह बाह
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

بو البح
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

Пух - Ба
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

Pooh- Bah
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

এসো
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

Pooh - Bah
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Pooh-Bah
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Pooh - Bah
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

プーさん - フン
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

푸우 - 바하
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Pooh-Bah
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

Ôm đồm
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

ஏளன-Bah
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

पूह-बाह
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Pooh-Bah
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

Pooh - Bah
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

Pooh - Bah
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

Пух -Ба
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

Pooh - Bah
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

Pooh - Bah
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

Pooh - Bah
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

Puh - Bah
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

Pooh - Bah
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of Pooh-Bah

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «POOH-BAH»

The term «Pooh-Bah» is normally little used and occupies the 118.572 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
45
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «Pooh-Bah» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of Pooh-Bah
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «Pooh-Bah».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «POOH-BAH» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «Pooh-Bah» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «Pooh-Bah» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about Pooh-Bah

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «POOH-BAH»

Discover the use of Pooh-Bah in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to Pooh-Bah and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Death of a Pooh-Bah
In the sequel to Death of a Baritone, an invitation from a long-lost aunt takes musician Phoebe Mullins to Northampton, Massachusetts, where she takes on the job of stage manager for a community production of The Mikado, but the murder of ...
Karen Sturges, 2000
2
The Gasbag
[from William Safire: Safire 's Political Dictionary] POOH-BAH big shot; pompous functionary. The word has a huffing and puffing sound, imitative of the "high MUCKEY-MUCKS" itdescribes. A favorite of Justus Lawrence, aide to General Dwight ...
‎1991
3
the mikado
ALL are OFF except KO KO and POOH BAH, who have been waving good-bye to OTHERS.) KO KO: Ah, my good colleague, Pooh Bah. (They bow politely to each other.) lt seems that the festivities regarding my approaching marriage must ...
‎1982
4
The Last Pirate
A Pooh-Bah paid for his services! I a salaried minion! But I do it! It revolts me, but I do it.” “It does you credit,” said Pish-Tush blandly. “Ah,” Pooh-Bah went on with a self-pitying sigh, “I don't stop at that. I go and dine with middle-class people on ...
Louis Untermeyer, 2000
5
Kenneth Sandford, Merely Corroborative Detail
used the presence of The Mikado to show Pooh— Bah's desire to ingratiate himself with anyone he perceives as being usefill to him. When The Mikado laughed heartily he laughed heartily, although he never seemed to notice that his sickly ...
Roberta Morrell, 2009
6
Cruising World
hey call him the Grand Pooh-Bah, and there he was, in all his Pooh-Bahness. It was just before 1100 last October 31 (yes, Halloween) in the waters off San Diego, California, and the Pooh-Bah was about to perform the fall ritual he's practiced ...
7
Feminism and the Periodical Press, 1900-1918
!he ordinary opponent who echoes traditional sentiment, produces the baffling sense of being transported into a world of comic opera, where it becomes one's fantastic fate to try to reason with the " Mikado " or " Pooh Bah " or the " Pirates of  ...
Lucy Delap, Maria DiCenzo, Leila Ryan, 2006
8
Godwar: Hell Rising
On the second ship, above, Pooh-Bah shut the eyes of the injured man and asked the priests to recite the funeral prayers. The man was dead. He was neither a slave nor a common sailor, but the captain of the ship. He had been injured during ...
D.K. Cherian, 2013
9
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
Pooh-Bah, Nanki-Poo, and Pish-Tush 4a. "AND HAVE I JOURNEYED FOR A MONTH" (Recitative) Nanki-Poo and Pooh-Bah 5. "BEHOLD THE LORD HIGH EXECUTIONER" (Chorus and Solo) Ko-Ko and Men 5a. "As SOME DAY IT MAY ...
10
Restoring Responsibility: Ethics in Government, Business, ...
may be called Pooh-Bahism in honor of Pooh-Bah, the Emperor's Adviser in the operetta. Pooh-Bah, assuming several different roles in turn, gives conflicting advice, and then finally offers to resolve the conflict if he receives a bribe simply " as ...
Dennis F. Thompson, 2005

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «POOH-BAH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term Pooh-Bah is used in the context of the following news items.
1
John Kerry Lectures Congress: If You Don't Approve This Deal, the …
The Ayatollah Khamenei, who is the grand pooh-bah of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism in the world, will not trust us? You know, we teach ... «RushLimbaugh.com, Jul 15»
2
Lamplighters: Keeping a Spotlight on Gilbert and Sullivan
"Pooh-Bah in 'The Mikado' is one of the great examples of an incompetent bureaucrat. Gilbert has great fun with the idea of people who rise to ... «Chico Enterprise-Record, Jul 15»
3
Stellar performances in Japanese spectacle
Waldo Buckle's Pish-Tush has a strong stage presence with a reliably resonant bass-baritone, while Stephan Le Roux, as the venal Pooh-Bah, ... «Independent Online, Jul 15»
4
The agents behind the talent
Sandy Montag, IMG The “grand pooh-bah” of sports talent agents is how one TV executive described Montag. His client list is a who's who of ... «SportsBusiness Daily, Jul 15»
5
PolitickerNJ: The Movie
Only veteran character actor Vincent could capture the nuance of East Ward Democratic Party Pooh-Bah Parlavecchio. ddevito Danny DeVito ... «PolitickerNJ, Jul 15»
6
Review: 'Hot Mikado' turns up the heat on a classic
Xerron Mingo brings great gusto to the role of Pooh-Bah, the holder of nearly every official post in Titipu. Katisha, usually an unappealing ... «Greenville News, Jul 15»
7
First Church of Cannabis' inaugural service will not include weed
Church founder Bill Levin, who anointed himself the Grand Pooh-bah and Minister of Love, asked his followers on Facebook to refrain from ... «Yahoo News, Jul 15»
8
Theater Review: 'The Mikado'—Fresher & Tastier Than Sushi!
Matthew Brennan is Pooh-Bah, Lord High Everything Else, “born sneering” and loving the privileges of each political office he holds claim to. «CapeNews.net, Jul 15»
9
Can't top TO on Canada Day
Tory, our prattling pooh-bah of positivity, says, “I don't know why we focus on the glass being half empty as opposed to half full,” referring to the ... «Toronto Sun, Jun 15»
10
The NBA Draft Through the Lens of a Timberwolves Fan
... I watched with some degree of uncertainty, hoping that the Wolves' Coach/GM/Part-Owner/Pooh-bah would not try to out-smart the rest of the ... «Today's Fastbreak, Jun 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Pooh-Bah [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/pooh-bah>. May 2024 ».
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