独占鳌头

to come first in triennial palace examinations (idiom, refers to the carved stone turtle head in front of the imperial palace, next to which the most successful candidate in the imperial examinations was entitled to stand) / to be the champion / to be the very best in any field

alone / independent / single / sole / only

to monopolize / to control / to dominate

variant of 占[zhan4]

to observe / to divine

to take possession of / to occupy / to take up

mythological sea turtle

variant of 鰲|鳌[ao2]

head / hair style / the top / end / beginning or end / a stub / remnant / chief / boss / side / aspect / first / leading / classifier for pigs or livestock / CL:個|个[ge4]

suffix for nouns