front man
5
7.9
- noun
- /frʌnt mæn/
:
títere
- And so now all that pressure of being the front man was off you and now you could be behind the scenes.
- just a front man
He's terrible and he is one of the front men for a kind of form of national conservativism, which on economic policies is terrible.
- He's terrible and he is one of the front men for a kind of form of national conservativism, which on economic policies is terrible.
Examples
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Bruce Dickinson is the larger than life front man of Iron Maiden, one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time.
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You won the chance to be the front man for the biggest pop act since The Beatles, And you still have trouble with it?
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We have to have a front man.
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If the front man is never seen in a bank, we're never seen out of one.
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Now here was the perfect front man.
Fiction book (1995) -
That was my first ever show as a lead, as a front man of this band that that I'd got together.
-
Man, Jim's got to start facing the crowd if he's going to be the front man.
Fiction book (1991) -
Bono is not only known for being the front man for the rock band U2, but also as a tireless and effective political activist for causes such as world hunger, apartheid, and AIDS.
Blog text (9) -
Brian and Roger trusted Adam to be the dynamic, enthralling performer and front man that he is—and all of their hopes appear to have been realized by love-crazed audiences comprised of fans from both camps.
Blog text (10) -
The politician acted as a front man for the controversial campaign, masking the true motives behind it.
Synonyms
66
8.8
A person who pretends to run a business to hide illegal activity
15
7.2
A person with a title but no real power who acts as a front
1
7.7
A person who appears to be the owner to hide the real people in charge
1
8.2
A person who appears to own things but hides the real owner often for illegal acts
1
8.9
A person used as a front to hide the real owners of something
How Visible
51
3.5
123
3.5
5
7.9
- Offensive
1
8.2
117
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a man who serves as a cover or figurehead' is directly composed from 'front' (a person serving to conceal real operators) plus 'man' (an adult male), so the overall sense follows straightforwardly from the constituent meanings. This compositional pattern is common and likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows the given senses of the parts.
Etymology
Front man comes from the image of a front man who stands in front while others hide behind him. Because he is the visible 'cover' or 'figurehead', front man now means 'a person who pretends to be in charge while the real leaders stay hidden'.