Top Gun
Best military pilot
Top Gun is the common name for the U.S.
Navy's elite fighter weapons school, formally the Navy Fighter Weapons School.
By extension, a top gun is anyone at the pinnacle of their field: She's the top gun in corporate litigation.
The 1986 film of the same name made the phrase synonymous with fighter pilot swagger and competitive excellence.
Airborne military combatant
- aircraft carrierWarship with flight deck
- squadronMilitary aviation unit
- dogfightClose combat between aircraft
- combatArmed hostile engagement
mission · tactical · sortie · radar · call sign · wingman · Miramar · flight school
Enormously successful entertainment property
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- 1980sFourth-to-last twentieth-century decade
- sequelContinuation of prior work
- MaverickVehicle or name
Tom Cruise · Goose · Val Kilmer · Tony Scott · cinematography · premiere · franchise · box-office
Pilot's control compartment
- jetForced fluid stream
- F-14 TomcatAmerican naval interceptor
- afterburnerExhaust-stream fuel injector
- airspeedAircraft's atmospheric velocity
altitude · thrust · maneuver · inverted · flyby · control tower · ejection seat · supersonic
- BerlinGermany's largest city
- anthemOfficial song of praise
- synthesizerElectronic sound-generating instrument
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
platinum · chart · hit single · instrumental · theme · power ballad · OST · iconic
Ongoing contest between opponents
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
- trophyAward for winning
- eliteSuperior select group
- best of the bestSupreme among superiors
competition · challenger · defeat · victory · leaderboard · ranking · graduation · washout
fighter pilot
Airborne military combatant
- aircraft carrierWarship with flight deck
- squadronMilitary aviation unit
- dogfightClose combat between aircraft
combat · mission · tactical · sortie · radar · call sign · wingman · Miramar · flight school · admiral
blockbuster
Enormously successful entertainment property
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- 1980sFourth-to-last twentieth-century decade
- sequelContinuation of prior work
Tom Cruise · Maverick · Goose · Val Kilmer · Tony Scott · cinematography · premiere · franchise · box-office · action
cockpit
Pilot's control compartment
- jetForced fluid stream
- F-14 TomcatAmerican naval interceptor
- afterburnerExhaust-stream fuel injector
airspeed · altitude · thrust · maneuver · inverted · flyby · control tower · ejection seat · supersonic · barrel roll
Kenny Loggins
- BerlinGermany's largest city
- anthemOfficial song of praise
- synthesizerElectronic sound-generating instrument
score · platinum · chart · hit single · instrumental · theme · power ballad · OST · iconic
rivalry
Ongoing contest between opponents
best of the best · competition · challenger · defeat · victory · leaderboard · ranking · graduation · washout · pressure
- Tom Cruise FilmsMission Impossible, Jerry Maguire, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Risky Business
- 80sbig hair, mullets, shoulder pads, new wave, synth-pop
- 80s Pop CultureBack to the Future, E.T., Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, The Breakfast Club
- Paramount FilmsThe Godfather, Titanic, Forrest Gump, Grease, Indiana Jones
- 1986 EventsChernobyl, Challenger disaster, Halley's Comet, Ferris Bueller, Aliens
- Air Combatair strike, airstrikes, fighter pilot, bombing run, combat aircraft
Top Gunwashout
Complete failure or cancellation
rookie · last place · trainee · greenhorn · amateur
Top GunPlatoon
Infantry unit, several squads
Full Metal Jacket · Apocalypse Now · box office bomb · critical flop · Coming Home