king bee

American  

noun

South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. a self-important person.

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Etymology

Origin of king bee

1890–95, on the model of queen bee

Example Sentences

Barney Oldfield, king bee of the speedway buzz wagons, drove his Green Dragon around and around a dirt track at Barbee's Park in South Joplin.

From Time Magazine Archive

Maybe fifty of 'em had come, and was seated, when in slid the king bee, the governor of the district.

From Cabbages and Kings by Henry, O.

Old Man Wisner's the king bee of this here row of houses.

From The Man Next Door by Hough, Emerson

I tamed the king bee, and when he had learned all sorts of funny little tricks, such as standing on his head and humming tunes, I let him go back to the swarm.

From Mr. Munchausen  Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder by Bangs, John Kendrick

You see dere was Master David and Mistress Louisa, de king bee and de queen bee.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves South Carolina Narratives, Part 4 by Work Projects Administration