Bearleaders

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who leads and cares for bears, often in a performance context
2. an individual who promotes an idea or cause, drawing attention to it like a trainer with a bear
3. a metaphorical term for someone who guides others in an unconventional or attention-grabbing manner

Etymology: Before "bearleader" meant anyone promoting a cause, it named a real job: a bear-leader was a man who led a performing bear around for public shows, and it was in that trade that the word first took shape. The compound is simply "bear" plus "leader", so the sense of the word rests on a literal picture of someone steering an animal through a crowd. The metaphor took a political turn in 1773, when a caricature showed Spain as the bearleader, holding Great Britain in the role of the bear, while France played a fiddle to make the bear dance. In that picture the figure guiding the animal is the one who sets the tune, which explains why the word came to suit anyone who draws attention to a cause by staging it for an audience.

Synonyms: tour guides, leaders