A postpositive construction used after a descriptive noun to characterise a following noun, forming a phrase meaning 'a [noun] that is like a [descriptive noun]' (e.g., 'a teddy bear of a man' = a man resembling or suggestive of a teddy bear).
A grammatical pattern that attaches a descriptive noun after another noun to provide a vivid or metaphorical characterization.
2.
British EnglishAmerican Englishinformalcolloquial
Part of idiomatic intensifying constructions in which a preceding qualifier is emphasized (e.g., in phrases like 'a hell of a [noun]'), used to indicate great degree, extent, or intensity.