cock of the walk

The leader in a group, especially one who is quite con- ceited about the position. The term comes from animal husbandry, where an enclosure for domestic fowl was called a walk, and in that area they would fight for supremacy until only one remained—the supreme leader, or cock of the walk. The strutting pride of roosters had been transferred to bossy, conceited human beings for much longer, but the precise term cock of the walk in this sense dates only from the early nineteenth century.