Originally military slang, from[the] brass(“high-ranking officers”).
topbrass (usuallyuncountable,pluraltop brasses)
- (collective, colloquial) A group ofpeople who are theleaders orheads of an organization.
- Synonyms:governance,governing body,organisation,administration,establishment
1872, New Zealand Parliament, House of Representatives, “Parliamentary debates”, in57, volumes1-6, page649:Thetop brass of the army are up to various types of mischief and they do not want the public or even Members of Parliament to know about them.
1962 February, “No Talent on the Railways?”, inModern Railways, page74:The general who turned the tide at Alamein was not, prior to his arrival in the Middle East, one of the very "top brass"; but hewas a soldier, not a detergent manufacturer.
2022 January 22, Vincent Ni, “China hires western TikTokers to polish its image during 2022 Winter Olympics”, inThe Guardian[1]:On 3 January, Republican senator Rick Scott urged in a letter toNewsweek’stop brass to “reconsider its relationship with Vipp Jaswal”.
2022 November 9, “Kherson: Russia to withdraw troops from key Ukrainian city”, inBBC News[2]:The military'stop brass were seen making the decision on Russian state TV, with Gen Surovikin reporting on the situation on the ground in Kherson.
group of people who are the leaders
