kingpin n.
(orig. US, also KP) the central figure, the most important figure in an organization or team.
Joaquin 60: I called myself [...] a red-ball of villainy, a king-pin of wickedness, a knave of the pack of thieves. | ||
World (N.Y.) 26 Aug. 6/4: In the language of that eminent authority Mr. De Wolf Hopper, ‘Mickey Welch is a dandy and the king-pin of them all’. | ||
Fleet in Being vi. 76: The newer generation [...] know that he is the king-pin of their system. | ||
N.-Y. American 18 Dec. in Unforgettable Season (1981) 9: He is kingpin of the staff. | ||
Truth (Wellington) 15 Apr. 5/1: Lord Headly [...] a ‘king pin’ in the bakery and confectionary trades. | ||
Working Bullocks 258: ‘My!’ Mary Ann gasped incredulously, ‘and you was the king pin last week, Mark.’. | ||
London’s Und. 57: A blackmailer. Of the highest possible type, of course — a top-notcher, a king-pin, a crackajack, an ace. | ||
Phenomena in Crime 155: They have registered a conviction against the King-Pin of the ‘fences’. | ||
Little Men, Big World 46: [They] handled considerable underworld business, particularly the business of the ‘king pin,’ Leon Sollas. | ||
Scene (1996) 26: Knock out this kingpin, the fella you call The Man. | ||
Jamaica (1983) 61: King-pin Boysie Smart / cupped his prick and balls / and shuffled proudly up. | ‘Saturday in Kingston’||
Inner City Hoodlum 42: No-one enjoyed giving the tall black kingpin information that was bad. | ||
🎵 I’m the king pin when the wax spins. | ‘I’m Your Pusher’||
Source Oct. 154: The convicted kingpin of one of the city’s most violent crack cocaine gangs. | ||
NZEJ 13 32: KP n. Short for King Pin - a leader who has gained his/her position from violence. | ‘Boob Jargon’ in||
Shame the Devil 121: I’ve heard that both [...] sold drugs. But if they did, it was minor. Neither of them was the kingpin down here. | ||
Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 100/2: king pin n. 1a leader who has gained his position from violence or force. | ||
Lush Life 26: You gonna go all kingpin out there? | ||
IOL News (Western Cape) 9 May 🌐 The suspected bank robbery kingpin is still on the run. | ||
? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] I hate a snitch, especially when a so-called kingpin rat out his family. | ||
IOL (Cape Town) 10 Sept. 🌐 Police arrested two people at the funeral of Durban’s alleged hijacking kningpin. | ||
(con. 1991-94) City of Margins 51: He trailed this drug kingpin’s mistress. |