past master
noun phrase

- to be exceptionally skilled or experienced (in a particular activity, craft, or field) — typically followed by "in/of/at (doing something)

The Free Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The term "past master" originated in the context of Freemasonry, where it referred to someone who had served as the Worshipful Master of a Masonic lodge in the past.

The phrase gradually extended its meaning to describe someone who is exceptionally skilled or experienced in a particular field or activity. The term "past" signifies the completion of the role and the accumulation of knowledge and expertise over time.

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BLACK CAT, RED FACE!

Phineas Taylor "P. T." Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891)

P. T. Barnum, famous American showman and a past master of trickery, is said to have been a victim of it when a man from Vermont wrote offering him a cherry-coloured cat for $100.

Always on the lookout for rare attractions for his show, he replied that he would send the money on condition that the creature was guaranteed to be genuinely, not artificially, cherry-coloured. Upon receipt of the guarantee, Barnum sent the money, and shortly afterward received a small crate.

Inside the crate was a black cat. Around its neck was a ribbon with a note: 'Up in Vermont,' it read, 'the cherries are black!'

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SYNONYMS

ace, adept, authority, champion, crackerjack, crack/dab/deft hand, doyen, genius, gifted, grandmaster, hotshot, ingenious, knows their stuff (the ropes, the score), maestro, master, mastermind, maven, old hand (salt), PAST MASTER, prodigy, real pro, star, talent, top hand (gun), veritable encyclopedia, virtuoso, walking dictionary, whizz, wise owl, wizard

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“My dog is a PAST MASTER at looking woeful as if starving, no matter how recently he was fed.”

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