to be one's own man
7
6.5
- idiom
:
ser independiente
- After years of following others' opinions, he finally decided to be his own man and make his own choices.
- prove he's his own man
- want to be his own man
- always been his own man
Examples
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20-year-old Nathan, however, would seem to be his own man in such matters and has released a statement in which he urges his fellow southwest Virginians to support Obama's challenger in 2012.
Blog text (4) -
You will always be my baby, but I know that you're your own man now.
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It's time to be my own man.
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My son just needed to break free... be his own man.
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I am my own man.
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I'm my own man now.
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He wants to be his own man.
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He had to get away, be on his own, be his own man!
Fiction book (1995) -
He is his own man, something of a rarity in the world of economists.
Blog text (23) -
In his 31 years on the bench, Justice Byron White has managed to be his own man—someone who resists stereotyping.
Academic text (1993)
Synonyms
15
4.2
Act on your own without following what other people want
12
4.2
Able to live and support yourself without help from others
9
6.5
To think for yourself and make your own decisions
5
6.2
Choose your own path in life
5
4.4
To support yourself without help from other people
2
7.5
To be independent and take care of yourself without help
Antonyms
How Independent
17
4.1
- Informal
5
4.4
7
6.5
- Informal
26
5.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'be' (to exist as), 'one's own' (belonging to oneself) and 'man' (person), so the phrase literally conveys being a person who belongs to oneself — i.e. independent. This possessive + noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase be one's own man may come from the image of a person standing alone in charge of themselves, literally their own man, not under someone else's control. So it means 'to be independent' and make your own decisions.