top brass

English

Etymology

Originally military slang, from [the] brass (“high-ranking officers”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

top brass (usually uncountable, plural top brasses)

1. (collective, colloquial) A group of people who are the leaders or heads of an organization.

   Synonyms: governance, governing body, organisation, administration, establishment

   • 1872, New Zealand Parliament, House of Representatives, “Parliamentary debates”, in 57, volumes 1-6, page 649:

     The top brass of the army are up to various types of mischief and they do not want the public or even Members of Parliament to know about them.

   • 1962 February, “No Talent on the Railways?”, in Modern Railways, page 74:

     The general who turned the tide at Alamein was not, prior to his arrival in the Middle East, one of the very "top brass"; but he was a soldier, not a detergent manufacturer.

   • 2022 January 22, Vincent Ni, “China hires western TikTokers to polish its image during 2022 Winter Olympics”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     On 3 January, Republican senator Rick Scott urged in a letter to Newsweek’s top brass to “reconsider its relationship with Vipp Jaswal”.

   • 2022 November 9, “Kherson: Russia to withdraw troops from key Ukrainian city”, in BBC News‎^[2]:

     The military's top brass were seen making the decision on Russian state TV, with Gen Surovikin reporting on the situation on the ground in Kherson.

Translations

group of people who are the leaders

• Spanish: plana mayor f

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “top brass n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

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