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Boss vs Monster - What's the difference?

boss | monster |

In informal terms the difference between boss and monster

is that boss is a term of address to a man while monster is a prodigy; someone very talented in a specific domain.

As nouns the difference between boss and monster

is that boss is a swelling, lump or protuberance in an animal, person or object while monster is a terrifying and dangerous, wild or fictional creature.

As verbs the difference between boss and monster

is that boss is to decorate with bosses; to emboss while monster is to make into a monster; to categorise as a monster; to demonise.

As adjectives the difference between boss and monster

is that boss is of excellent quality, first-rate while monster is very large; worthy of a monster.

boss

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) bos, bose, boce, from (etyl) .

Noun

(es)
  • A swelling, lump or protuberance in an animal, person or object.
  • (geology) A lump-like mass of rock, especially one projecting through a stratum of different rock.
  • A convex protuberance in hammered work, especially the rounded projection in the centre of a shield.
  • (mechanics) A protrusion, frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.
  • (architecture) A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.
  • (archery) the target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.
  • A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths, or from the rounds of a ladder.
  • (Gwilt)
  • A head or reservoir of water.
  • Derived terms
    * bossless * bosslike * emboss

    Verb

    (es)
  • To decorate with bosses; to emboss.
  • Etymology 2

    Apparently a corruption of (bass).

    Noun

    (es)
  • (obsolete) A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.
  • * 1916 , , Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, 36:
  • All were waiting : uncle Charles, who sat far away in the shadow of the window, Dante and Mr Casey, who sat in the easy chairs at either side of the hearth, Stephen, seated on a chair between them, his feet resting on a toasting boss .
    Synonyms
    * (hassock or footrest): footrest, hassock

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) baas, from (etyl) . Originally a term of respect used to address an older relative, later, in , it began to mean a person in charge who is not a master.

    Noun

    (es)
  • A person who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor.
  • A person in charge of a business or company.
  • Chat turned to whisper when the boss entered the conference room.
    My boss complains that I'm always late to work.
  • A leader, the head of an organized group or team.
  • They named him boss because he had good leadership skills.
  • The head of a political party in a given region or district.
  • He is the Republican boss in Kentucky.
  • (informal) A term of address to a man.
  • Yes, boss .
  • (video games) An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress.
  • (humorous) Wife.
  • There's no olive oil, will sunflower oil do? — I'll have to run that by the boss .
    Synonyms
    * (person in charge of a business or company): employer * (person who oversees and directs the work of others): line manager, manager, supervisor * (leader of an organized group or team): head, leader * (head of a political party in a given region or district): leader * : gov/guv (UK), guvnor (UK), mate (UK) * See also
    Derived terms
    * boss battle * boss fight * miniboss * final boss * show someone who's boss * you're the boss

    Verb

    (es)
  • To exercise authoritative control over; to lord over; to boss around; to tell (someone) what to do, often repeatedly.
  • * 1931 , Robert L. May, Rudolph'', ''The Red-Nosed Reindeer , Montgomery Ward (publisher):
  • By YOU last night’s journey was actually bossed / Without you, I’m certain, we’d all have been lost.
  • * 1932 , Lorine Pruette, The Parent and the Happy Child , page 76
  • His sisters bossed him and spoiled him. All their lives he was to go on being their little brother, who could do no wrong, because he was the baby; [...]
  • * 1967 , Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, The purloined paperweight , page 90
  • She bossed him, and he's never gotten over it. She still orders him around, and instead of telling her to go soak her head, he just says 'Yes, ma'am' as weak as a newborn jellyfish [...]
  • * 1980 , Jean Toomer The wayward and the seeking: a collection of writings by Jean Toomer , page 40
  • For if, on the one hand, I bossed him and showed him what to do and how to do it, [...]
    Derived terms
    * boss about, boss around

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (slang, American, Liverpool) Of excellent quality, first-rate.
  • ''Don't you think surfing's boss ?

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    monster

    English

    Alternative forms

    * monstre (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A terrifying and dangerous, wild or fictional creature.
  • A bizarre or whimsical creature.
  • The children decided Grover was a cuddly monster .
  • An extremely cruel or antisocial person, especially a criminal.
  • Get away from those children, you meatheaded monster !
  • A horribly deformed person.
  • * 1837 , Medico-Chirurgical Review (page 465)
  • Deducting then these cases, we have a large proportion of imperfect foetuses, which belonged to twin conceptions, and in which, therefore, the circulation of the monster may have essentially depended on that of the sound child.
  • (figuratively) A badly behaved child, a brat.
  • Sit still, you little monster !
  • (informal) Something unusually large.
  • Have you seen those powerlifters on TV? They're monsters .
  • (informal) A prodigy; someone very talented in a specific domain.
  • That dude playing guitar is a monster .

    Derived terms

    * Cookie Monster * corporate monster * monstrosity * Frankenstein's monster * the Loch Ness monster * monster truck

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Very large; worthy of a monster.
  • He has a monster appetite.
    (Alexander Pope)
  • * '>citation
  • *
  • *
  • Synonyms

    * (very large) gigantic, monstrous

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make into a monster; to categorise as a monster; to demonise.
  • * 1983 , Michael Slater, Dickens and Women , page 290,
  • A Tale of Two Cities'' and ''Great Expectations feature four cases of women monstered by passion. Madame Defarge is ‘a tigress’, Mrs Joe a virago, Molly (Estella?s criminal mother) ‘a wild beast tamed’ and Miss Havisham a witch-like creature, a ghastly combination of waxwork and skeleton.
  • * 2005 , Diana Medlicott, The Unbearable Brutality of Being: Casual Cruelty in Prison and What This Tells Us About Who We Really Are'', Margaret Sönser Breen (editor), ''Minding Evil: Explorations of Human Iniquity , page 82,
  • The community forgives: this is in deep contrast to offenders that emerge from prison and remain stigmatised and monstered , often unable to get work or housing.
  • * 2011 , Stephen T. Asma, On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears , page 234,
  • Demonizing or monstering other groups has even become part of the cycle of American politics.
  • To behave as a monster to; to terrorise.
  • * 1968 , , Robert Lowell: A Collection of Critical Essays , page 145,
  • Animals in our world have been monstered' by human action as much as the free beasts of the pre-lapsarian state were ' monstered by the primal crime.
  • * 2009 , Darius Rejali, Torture and Democracy , page 292,
  • In 2002, American interrogators on the ground in Afghanistan developed a technique they called “monstering'.” The commander “instituted a new rule that a prisoner could be kept awake and in the booth for as long as an interrogator could last.” One “' monstering ” interrogator engaged in this for thirty hours.177
  • * 2010 , Joshua E. S. Phillips, None of Us Were Like This Before: American Soldiers and Torture , page 39,
  • The interrogators asked members of the 377th Military Police Company to help them with monstering , and the MPs complied.
  • (chiefly, Australia) To harass.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2009, date=January 31, author=Leo Schlink, title=Match looms as final for the ages, work=Herald Sun citation
  • , passage=Andy Roddick has been monstered by both Federer and Nadal and suffered a 6-2 7-5 7-5 semi-final loss at the hands of the Swiss champion. }}