local hero

English

Noun

local hero (plural local heroes)

1. A person who is regarded as a hero in local society.

   Synonym: toast of the town

   • 1855, Richard Ford, A Handbook for Travellers in Spain, 3rd edition, page 473:

     […] and this took place in Estremadura, where their local hero Paredes, according to Cervantes, stopped entire legions with his single sword.

   • 1991 August, Mark Blackwell, “Anchorage, Alaska”, in Spin, →ISSN, page 52:

     Mary Lou, who became a local hero in 1984 for outrunning a grizzly bear, ran her Fun House bar for 40 years before closing it in favor of the gift shop and liquor store.

   • 1992, Bruce Springsteen (lyrics and music), “Local Hero”, in Lucky Town:

     They get their local hero / Somebody with the right style / They get their local hero / Somebody with just the right smile

Further reading

• “local hero”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.