“Big fish” refers to an important person who is superior to others in a specific area. The term originated in America and can also denote a lack of ambition. In sports, it refers to a talented player in a poor team. It is also the title of a book and film about a man who exaggerates his life to stay relevant.
Being a “big fish” means being an important person. It is often accompanied by the tacit assumption that everyone else around that person is less important. These people are often referred to as “little chips”. Important person is measured in relation to others within a specifically defined area such as a company, an artistic genre or a place.
The exact origin of the term is unknown, but it is thought to come from America. Being a “big fish in a small pond” was first written about in the Galveston News in June 1881. The origin may have come from a pond containing an abnormally large fish, although this pond, if related to fishing, could easily to have been a river or a lake; “the pond” is also a euphemism for the Atlantic Ocean that separates Great Britain and America. The term has come to denote a person who is far superior to his contemporaries and colleagues; in this case, it is a sign of respect.
It can also be employed to denote a lack of ambition. The theory goes that the big fish in the pond aren’t willing to apply for a better position or move to a bigger city. It also implies that the person feels comfortable or even happier about being the big fish than not being important.
In sporting terms, a big fish is a talented player who plays for a relatively poor team. Usually, the big fish transfers to one of the bigger clubs to improve themselves, but that’s not always the case. One such player, Steve Bull, spent his entire career at his hometown club Wolverhampton Wanderers, although he mainly played in the second tier of English football.
“Big Fish” is the title of a book by Daniel Wallace and its film adaptation directed by Tim Burton. The story covers myth and legend, imagination and reality. In it, the central character Edward Bloom relates his life as a series of lofty and improbable tales that span the southern states of America in the second half of the 20th century. Bloom is the big fish, who left the pond but felt the need to exaggerate her own life to stay relevant, even when he didn’t need to.
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