grand old man

noun

1. a highly respected, usually elderly man who has been a major or the most important figure in a specific field for many years.

Example Sentences

In the city of L.A. itself, the grand old man of adobes is the Avila Adobe, built in 1818 by Francisco Avila, once mayor of the city.

From Los Angeles Times

The grand old man going out on the grandest stage of them all.

From BBC

Gaetano Pesce, who for more than 60 years created eccentrically shaped, brightly colored furniture, art objects and, occasionally, buildings, remaining the enfant terrible of the design world even as he became its grand old man, died on Wednesday in Manhattan.

From New York Times

While he considered it, he told the two eager young men to go consult with someone older and wiser: Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, the grand old man of Dutch physics, who had anticipated much of the development of special relativity two decades earlier and whom Einstein himself held in the highest regard.

From Scientific American

In 2015, the BBC's election night team was asked if the grand old man could come and watch from behind the scenes.

From BBC