Green’s Dictionary of Slang

kingpin n.

[US use is late 19C, then Aus. early 20C+, UK 1950s+; SE kingpin, synon. with kingbolt, the most important or largest bolt in a mechanical structure, itself linked to kingpost, the central post that holds up a roof-truss]

(orig. US, also KP) the central figure, the most important figure in an organization or team.

[US]H.L. Williams Joaquin 60: I called myself [...] a red-ball of villainy, a king-pin of wickedness, a knave of the pack of thieves.
[US]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’.
Kipling Fleet in Being vi. 76: The newer generation [...] know that he is the king-pin of their system.
[US]N.-Y. American 18 Dec. in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 9: He is kingpin of the staff.
[NZ]Truth (Wellington) 15 Apr. 5/1: Lord Headly [...] a ‘king pin’ in the bakery and confectionary trades.
[Aus]K.S. Prichard Working Bullocks 258: ‘My!’ Mary Ann gasped incredulously, ‘and you was the king pin last week, Mark.’.
[UK]S. Horler London’s Und. 57: A blackmailer. Of the highest possible type, of course — a top-notcher, a king-pin, a crackajack, an ace.
[UK]V. Davis Phenomena in Crime 155: They have registered a conviction against the King-Pin of the ‘fences’.
[US]W.R. Burnett Little Men, Big World 46: [They] handled considerable underworld business, particularly the business of the ‘king pin,’ Leon Sollas.
[US]C. Cooper Jr Scene (1996) 26: Knock out this kingpin, the fella you call The Man.
[UK]A. Salkey ‘Saturday in Kingston’ Jamaica (1983) 61: King-pin Boysie Smart / cupped his prick and balls / and shuffled proudly up.
[US]D. Goines Inner City Hoodlum 42: No-one enjoyed giving the tall black kingpin information that was bad.
[US]Ice-T ‘I’m Your Pusher’ 🎵 I’m the king pin when the wax spins.
[US]Source Oct. 154: The convicted kingpin of one of the city’s most violent crack cocaine gangs.
[NZ]D. Looser ‘Boob Jargon’ in NZEJ 13 32: KP n. Short for King Pin - a leader who has gained his/her position from violence.
[US]G. Pelecanos 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.
[NZ]D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 100/2: king pin n. 1a leader who has gained his position from violence or force.
[US]R. Price Lush Life 26: You gonna go all kingpin out there?
[SA]IOL News (Western Cape) 9 May 🌐 The suspected bank robbery kingpin is still on the run.
[US]‘Dutch’ ? (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.
[US](con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 51: He trailed this drug kingpin’s mistress.