past masters
Those who've excelled
Past masters are people who have thoroughly mastered a skill or field—experts with deep experience.
The phrase often carries a note of admiration for hard-won expertise: They were past masters at political maneuvering.
The singular form is past master.
- grandmasterSupreme competitive title
- specialistExpert in one field
- old handExperienced person
- seasoned proExpert with long experience
- expertHighly skilled practitioner
adept · maestro · connoisseur · virtuoso · pro · learned the hard way · trailblazer · maven · legend · elder statesman · authority · sage · veteran · old guard · mentor · predecessors · luminary · savant
expertise level
past mastersnovices
Inexperienced newcomers
amateurs · beginners · neophytes · dilettantes · tyros
experience and tenure
past mastersnewcomers
Those recently arrived
first-timers · fledglings · raw recruits · newbies · rookies
past, master, masters, pass, passed, passing, passer, passable, impassable