panjandrum Hear it!

panjandrum definition

pan·jan·drum (pan jan′drəm)

noun

a self-important, pompous official: a satirical title

Etymology: arbitrary formation from a nonsense passage by Samuel Foote (1721-77), Eng actor & playwright

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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