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

See Examples For:

king bee

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.

"He's the king bee of all the Rebels in these heah parts, an' they think he kin 'bout make the sun stand still ef he wants ter."

From The Red Acorn by McElroy, John

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

He was king bee of the little village that snuggled under the shelter of the frowning towers and bastions of Courdray Castle, and acknowledged lord of the tap-room of the inn.

From Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 by Twain, Mark