Honcho

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Grammarist

Honcho is a term that dates back to the late 1940s. The origin of the word honcho may surprise you. We will examine the definition of honcho, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.

Honcho is a word used to mean the leader of a squad or the leader of a group, the boss. Honcho is often used in the term head honcho, though this is actually a tautology. A tautology is a phrase or idiom in which the same idea is expressed twice using different words. Many believe that honcho has its roots in the Spanish language, but the word honcho entered the English language in the late 1940s when it was brought back to America by the servicemen who had occupied post-war Japan. Honcho is derived from a Japanese word, hanchō, which means group leader. The plural form of honcho is honchos.

Examples

“We will really up the ante,” said Ray Sandoval, Zozobra’s head honcho who also helped start Santa Fe’s first community New Year’s Eve celebration. (The Albuquerque Journal)

The head honcho also reaped the benefits of a generous share award, banking $89.2 million (£366 million) worth of Apple stock as part of a compensation package agreed when Mr Cook was appointed chief executive in 2011. (The Daily Express)

Sale prices for luxury bungalows in Sentosa Cove may have fallen this year but reports of the decline may not be taking into consideration some key factors, said one international real estate honcho recently. (The Business Insider)

Mikey Lion, head honcho of the label, wants to bring back the love at his raves, noting that human beings have been achieving a meditative state through dance for thousands of years. (San Francisco Weekly)