top people, n. pl.
Also with capital initials.
[top n.1 30.]
The aristocracy; leaders and people of rank and influence in the arts, politics, the professions, etc. Occas. sing. as top person.
The expression gained wide currency from the advertising slogan used by The Times in 1957.
| 1752 in M. M. Verney Verney Lett. (1930) II. xxxiv. 250 When they get in liquor they are very troublesome and noisy. They kept it up all night, several of the top people. 1957 Economist 21 Sept. 929/3 Like the Times, it [sc. Punch] has been read by top people for a long time. 1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 103 He had a very sharp top-person suit on. 1960 Sunday Times 21 Feb. 9/5 (Advt.), The man who gets on is he who makes himself bigger than his job... Top People take The Times. 1963 Punch 4 Sept. 356/2 Southerners, satiated with Top People prissiness. 1977 News of World 17 Apr. 2/3 The top people's directory, Who's Who. 1981 R. D. Edwards Corridors of Death vi. 29 The need for tact and sensitivity in handling the Top People involved. |