public enemy number one

English

Alternative forms

• Public Enemy No. 1

Pronunciation

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Noun

public enemy number one (uncountable)

1. (US, law enforcement, dated) A person who ranks highest on the federal government's prioritized list of wanted criminal fugitives.
   • 1934 July 22, “Dillinger Slain in Chicago”, in New York Times, retrieved 26 October 2016, page 1:

     John Dillinger, America's Public Enemy No. 1 and the most notorious criminal of recent times, was shot and killed at 10:40 o'clock tonight by Federal agents.

   • 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 119:

     "Sure you never heard of him?" he asked incredulously. "Never," I said flatly. "You must have," he argued. "Why Hamilton was a Public Enemy No. 1 at one time."

2. (by extension) A person, organization, or other object considered to be particularly menacing, harmful, or loathsome.
   • 1983 January 27, William Safire, “Essay: The Midterm Crisis”, in New York Times, retrieved 26 October 2016:

     The fact is that Reaganomics slowed down the breakneck economy and succeeded in defeating public enemy number one, runaway inflation.

   • 1995 October 12, Peter Victor, “A tale of Flopsy, Mopsy and public enemy No 1”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 26 October 2016:

     The Isle of Man's public enemy number one—the rabbit—can breathe easier today. The price on its head, or tail, was revoked.

   • 2014 January 27, Deborah Kotz, “Are no-calorie sweeteners safe?”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 26 October 2016:

     As sugar has become public enemy number one in the battle against obesity, many Americans have fed their sweet tooth with artificially sweetened diet drinks.

   • 2023 March 28, Tiffany Hsu, quoting Carolos Moreno, “He Wanted to Unclog Cities. Now He’s ‘Public Enemy No. 1.’”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “I wasn’t a researcher anymore, I was Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler,” Mr. Moreno said. “I have become, in one week, Public Enemy No. 1.”