Now, the VOA Special English programWORDS AND THEIR STORIES.Some expressions describe peoplewho are important,or who at least think they are.One such expression is bigwig.In the seventeenth century,important men in Europebegan to wear false hair, called wigs.As years passed, wigs began to get bigger.The size of a man's wigdepended on how important he was.The more important he was-- or thought he was-- the bigger the wig he wore.Some wigs were so largethey covered a man's shoulders or back.Today, the expression bigwig is usedto make fun of a person who feels important.People never tell someone he is a bigwig.They only use the expression behind his back.Big wheel is another wayto describe an important person.A big wheel may be the head of a company,a political leader, a famous movie star.They are big wheels because they are powerful.What they do affects many people.Big wheels give the orders.Other people carry them out.As in many machines,a big wheel makes the little wheels turn.Big wheel a popular expressionafter World War Two.It probably comes from an expressionused for many years by peoplewho fix parts of cars and trucks. They said a person rolled a big wheelif he was important and had influence.The top of something is the highest part.So it is not surprisingthat top is part of another expressionthat describes an important person.The expression is top banana.A top banana is the leading personin a comedy show.The funniest comedianis called the top banana.The next is second banana. And so on.Why a banana?A comedy act in earlier daysoften included a partwhere one of the comedianswould hit the others over the headwith a soft object.The object was shapedlike the yellow fruit: the banana.Top banana still is used mainly in show business.Yet the expression can also be usedto describe the top person in any area.A kingpin is another word for an important person.The expression comes from the game of bowling.The kingpin is the number one pin.If hit correctly with the bowling ball,the kingpin will make all the other nine pins fall.And that is the object of the game.So, the most important personin a project or business is the kingpin.If the kingpin is removed,the business or project is likely to fail.Kingpin is often usedto describe an important criminal,or the leader of a criminal gang.A newspaper may report, for example,that police have arrestedthe suspected kingpin of a car-stealing operation.(MUSIC)This VOA Special English program,WORDS AND THEIR STORIES,was written by Marilyn Christiano.(MUSIC)