ape leader

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

a person who is followed by others without being a true leader

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

người được theo dõi bởi người khác mà không phải là lãnh đạo thực sự

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: leader of apes
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The new team manager is just an ape leader, making reckless decisions.

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

An old maid; their punishment after death, for neglecting increase and multiply, will be, it is said, leading apes in hell.

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “ape leader” mean?

a person who is followed by others without being a true leader Literally: leader of apes

Is “ape leader” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.