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The word "man" is still used in its generic meaning in literary English. The verb to man (i.e. "to furnish [a fortress or a ship] with a company of men") dates to early Middle English. The word has been applied generally as a suffix in modern combinations like "fireman", "policeman", and "mailman".
"The Man" is a slang phrase, mainly used in the United States, to refer to figures of authority, including members of the government. Though typically used as a derogatory connotation, the phrase may also be used as a term of respect or praise.
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
A steel man argument (or steelmanning) is the opposite of a straw man argument. Steelmanning is the practice of applying the rhetorical principle of charity through addressing the strongest form of the other person's argument, even if it is not the one they explicitly presented. Creating the strongest form of the opponent's argument may involve ...
The original meaning was similar to "the game is afoot", but its modern meaning, like that of the phrase "crossing the Rubicon", denotes passing the point of no return on a momentous decision and entering into a risky endeavor where the outcome is left to chance. alenda lux ubi orta libertas: Let light be nourished where liberty has arisen
The earliest confirmed publication is the 1866 Dion Boucicault play Flying Scud, [2] in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, "Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can't stop; I've got to see a man about a dog." [3] [4] Time magazine observed that the phrase was the play's "claim to fame". [5]
As every professional knows, there's an art to emails. Here's how to mask annoyance and exasperation with gentle, polite phrases.
Mansplaining (a blend word of man and the informal form splaining of the gerund explaining) is a pejorative term meaning "(for a man) to comment on or explain something, to a woman, in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner". [3] [4] [5] [6]