past mistress

noun

a woman who is thoroughly experienced or exceptionally skilled in a profession, art, etc.

Origin of past mistress

First recorded in 1865–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Already you are past-mistress on the subject of vases and statues.
Letters to an Unknown
Prosper Mrime
She was past-mistress of the entrechat and other mysteries of the ballet academy.
Interpreters
Carl Van Vechten
She was a past-mistress in the arts of scandal-mongering, nagging, and back-biting.
A Woman's Burden
Fergus Hume
The American girl is past-mistress in the art of turning to account her little capital of beauty, youth, and virtue.
Jonathan and His Continent
Max O'Rell
She was past-mistress of the canoeist's difficult art, and her canoe flew on as though drawn away into the dark on unseen cords.
A Hoosier Chronicle
Meredith Nicholson