English edit

Etymology edit

big time +‎ -er

Noun edit

big-timer (plural big-timers)

  1. A major player in the field in question: someone who is in the big time
    • 1992, Shashi Tharoor, Show Business: A Novel, page 144:
      The small-timers, as he put it, kept their currency in their homes, in safes, in false ceilings, under beds. When necessary, our tax people know where to look. The big-timers, however, use Swiss banks.