grand old man

American  

noun

1. a highly respected, usually elderly man who has been a major or the most important figure in a specific field for many years.

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Example Sentences

While he considered it, he told the two eager young men to go consult with someone older and wiser: Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, the grand old man of Dutch physics, who had anticipated much of the development of special relativity two decades earlier and whom Einstein himself held in the highest regard.

From Scientific American

In 2015, the BBC's election night team was asked if the grand old man could come and watch from behind the scenes.

From BBC

Over time, he became deeply respected, seen as the grand old man of the Germanic canon, though he was never a box office draw.

From New York Times

The son of Pelham “Plum” Warner, dubbed the “Grand Old Man of cricket,” Esmond was living a feckless Brideshead-style life when World War II broke out.

From Washington Post

Rams’ takeaways from Russell Wilson trade: Rams’ Matthew Stafford is now the grand old man of NFC West with younger signal-callers as division rivals.

From Los Angeles Times