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This is one of those common phrases that I have never really questioned until now.

According to the free dictionary, "Big cheese" means an "important person".

But what on earth does "cheese" have to do with being important? Where did this phrase come from?

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Note the bad poetry that big cheeses have inspired. – Robusto Aug 13 '12 at 16:00
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Here is an exhaustive explanation: worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-big1.htm – BellevueBob Aug 13 '12 at 18:00
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I think the emphasis is more on "big" than on "cheese". Someone important can also be called a "big wheel," or a "bigwig," a "big gun," a "big shot," or the "big kahuna." Just a thought. I also wondered if there might be a link between big cheese and big wheel, since cheesemakers can make big wheels of cheese, but that's only a curiosity; I haven't researched it. – J.R. Aug 15 '12 at 1:30

2 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

It appears to be from Persian and Urdu.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cheese--2?region=uk&q=big+cheese

noun
(in phrase big cheese) informal

an important person:
he was a really big cheese in the business world

Origin:

1920s: probably via Urdu from Persian čīz 'thing': the phrase the cheese was used earlier to mean 'first-rate' (i.e. the thing)

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+1 and I wonder if French 'chose' is in any way related. – Barrie England Aug 13 '12 at 16:32
@BarrieEngland Um, French chose < Latin causa. English cheese < WGer. *kâsi, adapted < Latin cāseus. Got an etymological dictionary for Farsi? I don’t. – tchrist Aug 13 '12 at 20:07
The etymology of the standard English word "cheese" (fermented milk product) is irrelevant to the idiomatic "big cheese" - which as OED says, is "of doubtful origin; but prob. a. Pers. and Urdū chīz ‘thing’." And if French chose < Latin causa, that must also be unconnected. – FumbleFingers Aug 14 '12 at 1:30
up vote 4 down vote

Green's Dictionary of Slang has big cheese as

(Originally U.S) and important person, an influential figure, a boss in a situation or job.

The earliest citation is from 1908, with another from 1913.

I have to say that this casts some doubt on the Urdu derivation, as American slang is not typically Anglo-Indian in origin. He also notes that an alternative meaning:-

(a) an unpleasant, incompetent, stupid person; usually ext. as big cheese, piece of cheese, plate of cheese, poor cheese etc.

whose earliest citation is 1864, or...

(b) as [above] but used jocularly or affectionately

Whose earliest citation is 1891.

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While big cheese may be American, the etymology of cheese in the expression still seems to have its origin in India by way of England. – MετάEd Aug 17 '12 at 5:14
@MetaEd, the dates given by Quinion make it more probable. – Brian Hooper Aug 17 '12 at 5:49

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