to stick it to the man
4
9.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
desafiar a la autoridad
- She decided to quit her job in order to stick it to the man and pursue her dreams.
- want to stick it to the man
Look what he's willing to go through just to stick it to the man, right.
- Look what he's willing to go through just to stick it to the man, right.
- It's going to be a shout out to when you can successfully stick it to the man.
- So then now we are fully ready to both browse the web and stick it to the man at the same time.
Examples
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He constantly finds ways to stick it to the man by sharing his unconventional ideas.
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They really thought they were sticking it to the man.
Blog text (34) -
We did what you told us; we stuck it to the man.
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Way to stick it to the man, Mom.
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And there used to be a way to stick it to the man.
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Let's stick it to the man.
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Look what he's willing to go through just to stick it to the man, right.
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I am all for indie publishing if this is what it means, sticking it to the man.
Blog text (2) -
Here's how to buy your own modem and stick it to the man, no matter where you live.
Blog text (26) -
They organized a protest to stick it to the man and demand their rights.
Synonyms
178
3.7
Openly refuse to obey someone or seem to resist a force like time
To openly go against usual rules or advice
To resist authority in a way that is useless and makes things worse
Antonyms
How Defiant
127
5.1
- Informal
4
9.8
178
3.7
48
4.1
283
3.2
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'stick it to the man' uses the idiomatic construction 'stick it to (someone)' meaning to punish, cheat, or challenge someone, and 'the man' functions as slang for authority; these senses are not derivable from the literal meanings of 'stick' (e.g., attach or persist) and 'man' (a person). A B1 learner who knows the individual words would not reliably predict this metaphorical/slang meaning without prior exposure, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
The idiom stick it to the man may come from the picture of someone using a stick against the man, where 'the man' stands for people in power. That strong image of attacking those in charge is why the phrase means 'to openly resist or defy authority'.