English

Blades of grass

Alternative forms

• grass-tops
• grasstops

Adjective

grass tops ‎(not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Of, related to, or involving local influential figures.
   • 1998, Dan Clawson; Alan Neustadtl; Mark Weller, Dollars and Votes: How Business Campaign Contributions Subvert Democracy, Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, ISBN 978-1-56639-625-7, page 12:

     Along with the ads, industry worked to mobilize local politicians and business executives in what business groups called a "grass tops" campaign.

   • 2003 November 6, Cara Gardner, “Prepping for surgery”, in The Pacific Northwest Inlander, archived from the original on 26 September 2015:

     "Some of the work is grassroots," he said, "and some of it is grass-tops – like this summit."

   • 2007 November 12, Carla Marinucci, “Obama’s team oozes optimism”, in San Francisco Chronicle, archived from the original on 4 August 2016:

     [Mitchell] Schwartz said [Hillary] Clinton's campaign in California – which has been heavy on endorsements and organization – is more "grasstops" than "grassroots," while the Illinois senator [Barack Obama] has "a campaign of inspiration and not obligation."

   • 2015, James E. Anderson, “The Policy-makers and Their Environment”, in Public Policymaking: An Introduction, 8th edition, Stamford, Ct.: Cengage Learning, ISBN 978-1-285-73528-3, page 64:

     In recent years, groups have made considerable use of "outside lobbying" techniques, which try to persuade ordinary citizens to serve as their frontline advocates. Prominent here are "grass-roots" and "grass-tops" lobbying. […] Grass-tops lobbying strives to favorably energize an elite rather than the masses.

Noun

grass tops

1. (idiomatic, plural only) People in a position of power or influence at a local level.
   • 2007, David G. Smith; Judith D. Moore, Medicaid Politics and Policy, 1965–2007, New Brunswick, N.J.; London: Transaction Publishers, ISBN 978-1-4128-0737-1, page 234:

     They also had important connections to advocacy groups and the local "grass tops."

   • 2012 December 3, Sophie Yan, “New group seeks to incite political action”, in The Brown Daily Herald, archived from the original on 11 December 2013:

     "We are grassroots, not grass-tops," Kaplan said, meaning Common Sense Action seeks the opinions of all members regardless of leadership status within the group.

2. plural of grass top.

Antonyms

• grass roots