high-muck-a-muck

First recorded in 1855–60; from Chinook Jargon hayo makamak literally, “plenty to eat, much food,” perhaps extended derisively to Indians of high status with much disposable wealth, as for potlatches; hayo, from Nootka ḥayo “ten” (the base of various measures with suffixes for specific countable nouns); mak(a)mak “eat, food,” from Nootka ma·ḥo·ma(q-) “part of whale meat between blubber and flesh”