cock of the walk

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cock 1

 (kŏk)
n.
1.
a. An adult male chicken; a rooster.
b. An adult male of various other birds.
2. A weathervane shaped like a rooster; a weathercock.
3. A faucet or valve by which the flow of a liquid or gas can be regulated.
4.
a. The hammer of a firearm.
b. The position of the hammer of a firearm when ready for firing.
5. A tilting or jaunty turn upward: the cock of a hat.
6. Vulgar Slang
a. The penis.
b. A man or boy regarded as mean or contemptible.
7. Archaic The characteristic cry of a rooster early in the morning.
tr.v. cocked, cock·ing, cocks
1. To set the hammer of (a firearm) in a position ready for firing.
2. To set (a device, such as a camera shutter) in a position ready for use.
3. To tilt or turn up or to one side, usually in a jaunty or alert manner: cocked an eyebrow in response to a silly question.
4. To raise in preparation to throw or hit: cocked the bat before swinging at the pitch.
Idiom:
cock of the walk
An overbearing or domineering person.
[Middle English cok, from Old English cocc, probably from Late Latin coccus, from coco, a cackling, of imitative origin.]

cock 2

 (kŏk)
n.
A cone-shaped pile of straw or hay.
tr.v. cocked, cock·ing, cocks
To arrange (straw or hay) into piles shaped like cones.
[Middle English cok.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cock of the walk

n
informal a person who asserts himself or herself in a strutting pompous way
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cock′ of the walk′


n.
a domineering and overbearing person.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mentioned in
References in classic literature
As Mr Podsnap stood with his back to the drawing-room fire, pulling up his shirtcollar, like a veritable cock of the walk literally pluming himself in the midst of his possessions, nothing would have astonished him more than an intimation that Miss Podsnap, or any other young person properly born and bred, could not be exactly put away like the plate, brought out like the plate, polished like the plate, counted, weighed, and valued like the plate.
View in context
fell hop turkeB Gtu bh But cock of the walk Gregory Peck (a fellow turkey) ruffled feathers by making Mistletoe his bird.
Love Islehend; THE DIARY
In related foodie news, the Keets are moving forward to develop a new concept restaurant at the former Cock of the Walk location in North Little Rock.
From the Keet Kitchen
In the Prem, one day you can be 'cock of the walk' but a season' or two later, a feather duster.
Town's immediate future sealed by some bad luck
One day you are cock of the walk, the next day a feather duster.
An India that is possible
JIM Davidson has proved himself once more a cock of the walk.
There's nothing funny about Jim Davidson
Unlike Smith, whose powers as a batsman were in decline after a succession of injuries, de Villiers exits the big stage while still the cock of the walk. Before the start of South Africa's punishing home season, so much of the talk was about the great batsmen who would be visiting their shores -- Virat Kohli and Steven Smith.
AB de Villiers' exit should give cricket's bigwigs pause for thought
Dear Cock of the Walk's Chick: I don't see this proud peacock putting down his plumes any time soon.
Dear Annie
Cock of the Walk is a catfish house providing fresh catfish in a casual and rustic setting.
Dining Out
lying around quaffing the grape, acting like cock of the walk,
Jacob and Esau with Sister
He said: "It was important for the writer, Steve Knight, to show that it was great to be the cock of the walk in Birmingham but going to London takes things to a whole other level.
Sneak peek at gang star; Cillian Murphy returns as brutal and ambitious gang leader Thomas Shelby, all set to expand his Peaky Blinders empire into the London underworld
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