honcho

noun

1. (informal)Boss, leader.

   “Says they had no choice. Says the NVA killed the old honcho when he said no. Now he says all the rice is theirs.”

   “For years, snobbery has been a hallmark of this city of wealth and glamour, movie stars and entertainment honchos, where it is possible to spend $20,000 for a watch, $6,000 for a suit with 14-karat gold pinstriping or $15,000 for a handbag of rare leather.”

   “Mostly he wrote what the higher honchos in the newsroom referred to, often condescendingly, as “offbeat” stories.”

   “Gulfstream makes jets for both Hollywood honchos and foreign governments like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.”

verb

1. (Canada, US, informal, transitive)To lead or manage.

   “I had never honchoed that many people so even something as simple as ordering them to knead dough or fondant became an important decision.”

   “The task of choosing the clips that comprised the allotted 10 minutes in the bake-off was left to the supervising sound editor, as it was he or she who honchoed the preparation of the soundtrack for the rerecording mixing stage in the first place.”