Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) anyone large, important, successful, esp. used in entertainment industries.

1926		J.J. Finerty Criminalese.
1938		D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 12 Feb. 17/2: Where’s that ‘hotel’ maintained for certain Harlem ‘biggies’.
1937		Sun (Sydney) 12 Dec. 3/2: Bearing out the Hollywood success prescription, it's not what you know but who you know, though in Mary's case add personal attributes of youthful beauty, a little experience, and lots of horse sense, as well as a bit of British snobbishness that has intrigued the 'biggies' here.
1946		J. Adams From Gags to Riches 279: Al Bloomingdale, the department store biggie.
1950		W. Winchell On Broadway 10 Jan. [synd. col.] Madeleine Carroll (now in a romance with a Life biggie).
1960		E. De Roo Big Rumble 92: We’re digging that Youth Board biggie together this aft, reet?
1965		T. Wolfe Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (1966) 68: God knows what the music business biggies thought of Phil Spector.
1978		S. King Stand (1990) 52: The Columbia biggies had presented him with another check.
1984		D. Jenkins Life Its Ownself (1985) 55: Burt was swirling in a clump of network biggies.
2004		J. Ellroy ‘Jungletown Jihad’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 374: He’s [...] making ‘sin’ films for distribution to Muslim biggies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
2006		C.W. Ford Deuce’s Wild 17: Biggy carried a piece.

2. in attrib. use of sense 1.

2011

Times Mag. 30 Apr. 57/3: Brad’s biggie client was the late C.B. kennedy.

3. (US prison) the prison authorities.

1970

‘Red’ Rudensky Gonif 20: I was in so bad with the biggies and Warden Biddle I couldn’t slip any further down the ladder.

4. something big; something important, often in neg. no biggie, don’t worry, it’s not important.

1947		Sydney Morning Herald 26 Mar. 8/3: Now he was quivering all over with suspense, for the end of the line was being jerked so sharply that it almost flew out of his hand. `I've got something! A biggie, too!' he muttered excitedly, turning round and pulling on the line with all his might.
1974		Tharunka (Sydney) 8 May 5/4: If you don’t like the biggies (and every red blooded Aussie goes for the underdog) you might like to give a very little thought to the up and coming minor parties.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 84: I hope this is the biggie, Harv.
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 188: Earthquake! Earthquake! [...] This is the biggy they predicted!
1982		Frank Zappa ‘Valley Girl’ 🎵 It’ll be like really cool / Except my like my teeth are like too small / But NO BIGGIE.
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 36: If the project’s a biggie like a multi-storey hotel.
1991		Desperate Dan Special No. 7 15: Jumpin’ Jeehosaphat! A real live bear! A biggie at that!
1996		L. Pettiway Honey, Honey, Miss Thang 35: I did do cocaine [...] I wasn’t really, really all that too much thrilled with it. I’m saying it was no biggy to me.
1999		J. Lethem Motherless Brooklyn (2000) 25: ‘Frank, what happened?’ ‘Knife,’ said Minna. ‘No biggie.’.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We have No 149: I thought this was the biggie.
2000		Guardian G2 11 Feb. 7: It’s just three days to Valentine’s day and something makes me think this one is going to be a biggie.
2002		‘Valley Girls’ on Paranoiafanzine 🌐 Sure, you made some mondo zeeked out choices, but it’s no biggie.
2009		J. Stahl Pain Killers 23: ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘No biggie.’.
2009		L. McIlvanney All the Colours 171: ‘It’s no biggie [...] It’s not a problem’.
2012		E. Beetner ‘One-Armed Bandit’ in C. Rhatigan and N. Bird (eds) Pulp Ink 2 [ebook] JJ knew which appendage he was about to use — and it was a biggie .
2013		J. Stahl Bad Sex on Speed 67: She drank from the run off [...] No biggy [...] a horse can survive without a tongue.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘Listen, it’s no biggie’.
2016		A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 107: He dodged my stare. ‘It’s no biggie’.
2017		T. Spicer Good Girl Stripped Bare 125: ‘I’m confident in our relationship. The name’s not a biggie’.
2020		C. Hiaasen Squeeze Me 58: ‘You cut me a sweet break on the formwork’ [...] ‘No biggie’.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 185: ‘‘Hey, it’s [i.e. an accidental killing] no biggie. You’re not a bad person’.

5. a tall and/or large person.

1948		Sun (Sydney) 14 Nov. 25/1: What's all this talk about fat men and thin men? Naturally, being a little on the plump side myself, I must stick up for the biggies.
2011		G. Phillips ‘Slicers’ Serenade of Steel’ in Pulp Ink [ebook] ‘Watch it, asshole,’ biggie growled [...] She put her vermilion-nailed hands on her substantial breasts in its straining top.

6. £1,000.

1995

I. Rankin Let It Bleed 160: Took me for five biggies. That still hurts; I’m a diplomat, not a millionaire.

7. see biggy n.¹