# 鬼社長



## Pavel Bond

あの鬼社長が、料理を作るのが興味だったなんて、想像し難いね。
What is 鬼社長?


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## 森人さん

鬼社長, a bad scary devilish boss. The boss is a demon.


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## Contrafibularity

鬼 (_oni_)-- is an adjectival prefix added to a person's status or job title.  It means the person is very harsh on people (harsh like a demon).    

Examples include:
*鬼*嫁
*鬼*上司
*鬼*教官
*鬼*警部
*鬼*教師


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## Pavel Bond

It particularly means that he is very harsh? (I mean, it is not an analogue of the words _damned, bloody, goddamned, _which are used just to express the negative attitude of the speaker to somebody or something: this damned cop, that bloody bastard, the goddamn thing...?)
For example: This damned policeman noticed my wrong parking and penalized me. Can I say あの鬼警部... without meaning that he is harsh, but just to express my irritation for him?


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## Contrafibularity

Pavel Bond said:


> It particularly means that he is very harsh? (I mean, it is not an analogue of the words _damned, bloody, goddamned, _which are used just to express the negative attitude of the speaker to somebody or something: this damned cop, that bloody bastard, the goddamn thing...?)
> For example: This damned policeman noticed my wrong parking and penalized me. Can I say あの鬼警部... without meaning that he is harsh, but just to express my irritation for him?


Yes, it just means the person is very harsh.   You may be annoyed by his/her harshness, or you may appreciate it, but it all depends on context.  If a police officer ticketed you for illegal parking, you may say あの鬼警*官*... (ticketing for illegal parking is usually a lower ranking officer's job) and express your irritation. But it still means the officer is harsh, and you are irritated by his/her harshness.


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## Pavel Bond

Thank you!


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## SoLaTiDoberman

鬼 can mean "Spartan," "very strict," or "devoted"  as well.

鬼軍曹
テストの鬼
将棋の鬼
鬼社長

I don't think 鬼 always has a negative connotation, although it's negative most of the cases.
Sometimes 鬼 can have a neutral connotation, or even rather good.
In other words, it might refer to someone who can be respected or awe.

In this original post, however, I don't know the 鬼社長 is respected or not because of the lack of the context.


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## Pavel Bond

テストの鬼 means a person highly devoted to preparation for the test? Or a great master to pass tests? Or a very strict examiner?
将棋の鬼 - a 将棋オタク, or a big master of 将棋?


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## frequency

That can mean a stubborn and self-disciplined person, too, not only a person who bullies somebody.


Pavel Bond said:


> This damned policeman noticed my wrong parking and penalized me. Can I say あの鬼警部


This can say he's very strict about those rules unlike a policeman who says "OK, I let you go!"

(Cross-posted with Doberman. Sorry for butting in.)


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## frequency

Pavel Bond said:


> テストの鬼 means a person highly devoted to preparation for the test? Or a great master to pass tests? Or a very strict examiner? 将棋の鬼


If you say JLPTテストの鬼 or 将棋の鬼, it's a person highly and strictly devoted to it, so people call him so. Such devotion sometimes helps him to be a great master.


> 将棋オタク


Well, this just means "a nerd".


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