panjandrum

[ pan-jan-druhm ]
See synonyms for panjandrum on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a self-important or pretentious official.

Origin of panjandrum

1
1745–55; pseudo-Latin word (based on pan-) coined by Samuel Foote (1720–77), English dramatist and actor

Words Nearby panjandrum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use panjandrum in a sentence

  • He and his scheme were referred to me, the panjandrum being graciously pleased to be unable to make head or tail of it.

  • panjandrum, pan-jan′drum, n. an imaginary figure of great power and importance, a burlesque potentate.

  • When he was here before, teachin' singin' school, he wasn't such a Grand panjandrum.

    Fair Harbor | Joseph Crosby Lincoln
  • Do you mean to say that you actually don't even know where the land of the Grand panjandrum is?

    The Mysterious Shin Shira | George Edward Farrow
  • Let them know that their great panjandrum has got to go too, to make room for the Future of the Proletariat.

    The Secret Agent | Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for panjandrum

panjandrum

/ (pænˈdʒændrəm) /


noun
  1. a pompous self-important official or person of rank

Origin of panjandrum

1
C18: after a character, the Grand Panjandrum, in a nonsense work (1755) by Samuel Foote, English playwright and actor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012