[A] throng of children came pouring from school. […] [T]hey were storming the sand-heap, pelting a king of the castle, who pelted back with handfuls.

Mr. Matthews, usually nonjudgmental when writing about O'Connor's domestic relations, can't resist calling him "the king of the castle, the smug possessor of a bevy of three fine women absolutely de-voted to him."

[A] onetime classmate in Kumamoto said, "I think Matsumoto is trying to create a closed society like the school for the blind he went to. He is trying to create a society separate from ordinary society in which he can become king of the castle."

Darren Clarke's impressive victory on Sunday at Montecastillo in the Volvo Masters, the season's finale, was good enough to leapfrog Lee Westwood into second place on the order of merit, but not to dislodge Monty as the king of the castle.

Wainwright, who is composing the music, is partnered with Daniel MacIvor, who is writing the libretto. “Both Daniel and I are used to being king of the castle,” Rufus confides, “so we need a third party to give us a sense of perspective.”

King of the castle

Meaning

Noun