odd man
9
5.9
- noun
- Informal
:
el raro
- At the party, I felt like the odd man in a crowd of people who all knew each other.
And I'm probably the odd man out in this conversation of the other EJ and MKI.
- And I'm probably the odd man out in this conversation of the other EJ and MKI.
- So I was automatically the odd man out, the minority, the weirdo, the dork, the dweeb, the honky.
Examples
-
In our book club, he was the odd man because he preferred thrillers while everyone else liked romance.
-
I feel like the odd man out, frankly.
Blog text (19) -
I was the odd man out and not going to these things.
-
I, I think some of this comes from my having been the odd man out in so many circumstances throughout my life.
-
Oh, am I the odd man out here?
-
With only three points of safety, which of you will be the odd man out?
-
I may very well be, and probably am, the odd man out!
Blog text (21) -
I thought I was the odd man out.
Blog text (5) -
Well, it seems I'm the odd man out, Governor.
-
I'm the odd man out here.
Synonyms
623
4.1
An interesting or unusual person you notice because of how they act
283
4.1
A person who is not accepted by a group or community
125
4.4
A person who feels they do not belong in a group or place
119
7.0
A person who acts in a strange or unusual way
54
5.1
A person who acts differently from others and cannot join in
35
8.8
A person who behaves in a very strange or wild way
21
7.2
A person who acts in a strange way
14
7.8
A person who seems strange and makes others uncomfortable
8
6.1
A person who is clearly different from others and does not fit in
4
9.9
A person who behaves very strangely
1
7.0
A person who behaves in an unusual way that others find odd
1
6.0
A person with unusual habits or behavior
1
6.8
A person who acts in a way people think is strange
1
6.7
A person with odd habits who others like
1
8.6
A person who acts a little strange or different
1
9.9
A person who acts in a strange way that others find unpleasant
1
9.1
A person who behaves very differently from what others expect
A person who feels awkward and does not belong
A person who behaves in a strange or unusual way
A person who acts strange and makes others uncomfortable
A person who acts in a strange or unusual way
A person who acts in an odd or unusual way
A person who seems strange to other people
How Different
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning 'a person who is different' is directly and compositionally derived from 'odd' (peculiar/different) + 'man' (person), so a learner who knows both words can infer the sense. This adjective+noun construction is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English patterns, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Odd man may come from simple games where people pair up and one person is left alone as the odd man. Because odd meant 'left alone', the phrase came to mean someone who 'does not fit in'.