tall poppy

[ tawl-pop-ee ]

nounChiefly Australian, New Zealand Informal

a person of great success, talent, or status: They are the best and the brightest, our very own tall poppies.

Origin of tall poppy

First recorded in 1980–85; from an anecdote about Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus, 7th century b.c., related in Herodotus

See also tall poppy syndrome.

Words Nearby tall poppy

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

How to use tall poppy in a sentence

This is very common in minority communities where, you know, there’s a tall poppy syndrome where someone emerges and seeks to represent people, they have to be cut down pretty quickly.
Andrew Sullivan doesn’t care what you think | Chris Johnson | September 22, 2021 | Washington Blade

British Dictionary definitions for tall poppy

tall poppy

noun

Australian informal a person who has a high salary or is otherwise prominent

Origin of tall poppy

perhaps from Tarquin's decapitation of the tallest poppies in his garden, to indicate the fate of the most prominent citizens of Gabii

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

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