"high on the totem pole" meaning in English

See high on the totem pole in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Etymology: Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance. Head templates: {{head|en|adjective|head=high on the totem pole}} high on the totem pole
  1. (often offensive, idiomatic) Accorded relatively high importance. Tags: idiomatic, offensive, often
    Sense id: en-high_on_the_totem_pole-en-adj-8MkADL76 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "low on the totem pole"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective",
        "head": "high on the totem pole"
      },
      "expansion": "high on the totem pole",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Accorded relatively high importance."
      ],
      "id": "en-high_on_the_totem_pole-en-adj-8MkADL76",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often offensive, idiomatic) Accorded relatively high importance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "offensive",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "high on the totem pole"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "low on the totem pole"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective",
        "head": "high on the totem pole"
      },
      "expansion": "high on the totem pole",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English offensive terms",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Accorded relatively high importance."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often offensive, idiomatic) Accorded relatively high importance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "offensive",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "high on the totem pole"
}

Download raw JSONL data for high on the totem pole meaning in English (1.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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