Idiom
who's who
Meaning
The identities of specific people, understood in terms of such distinguishing characteristics as their backgrounds, prominence, achievements, jobs, etc., as a basis for comparing them and especially as a basis for ranking them within a social group.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Read this guide to learn who is who in the company.”
“The guest list helps you see who's who at the wedding.”
“The new intern studied the company directory for hours to understand who is who before the big meeting.”
“At the film festival, the local reporters pointed out who's who so the photographers would know which celebrities to follow.”
“The coach spent the first week of practice watching the players to determine who's who in terms of skill and leadership.”
“After years of working in the industry, she finally understood who is who among the elite group of investors and decision makers.”
Examples
simple
“Read this guide to learn who is who in the company.”
“The guest list helps you see who's who at the wedding.”
contextual
“The new intern studied the company directory for hours to understand who is who before the big meeting.”
“At the film festival, the local reporters pointed out who's who so the photographers would know which celebrities to follow.”
“The coach spent the first week of practice watching the players to determine who's who in terms of skill and leadership.”
complex
“After years of working in the industry, she finally understood who is who among the elite group of investors and decision makers.”
Origin
The term originates from the 1849 publication of Who’s Who, a British biographical dictionary designed to catalog members of the upper class. The reference transitioned from a specific title of the elite into a general designation for prominent figures.
Key words
Related idioms
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