one-man band
2
4.4
- noun
- /ˈwʌnˌmæn bænd/
:
hombre orquesta
- Son, when you play the accordion, you are a one-man band.
This is sometimes called a one man band.
- This is sometimes called a one man band.
- So, you know, the one man band, Little Junior Parker.
Examples
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As a freelancer, she felt like a one-man band, handling everything from marketing to client meetings alone.
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So what they did was they trained me to be like this one man band, TV production person.
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The big money and I was a one man band, the photographer, the editor, the reporter.
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Up till now I've been a one man band as far as controlling my operation and doing everything myself.
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Apparently, Cloud Nothings is, or at least was, a one-man band from Cleveland.
Blog text (23) -
"Bert, a one-man band, plays to a small gathering "outside the gates to the park.
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His one-man band act is getting a lot of attention across Oklahoma City, with steady airplay on thespyfm.com, 91.7 FM, with his single "Bipolar."
Blog text (28) -
In her new position, he became a one-man band, managing the entire project without any help from coworkers.
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During the event, he acted as a one-man band, taking photographs, interviewing guests, and writing the articles.
Synonyms
3
7.7
A person who acts alone to solve problems
1
5.2
A person who does many different jobs and fills in when needed
Antonyms
How Independent
Surface Forms
Morphology
one-man + band
The phrase is directly compositional: 'one-man' = a single person and 'band' = an ensemble, so a 'one-man band' is literally a single person who performs the roles of a band. This sense readily generalizes to someone who does many tasks alone and is predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
One-man band comes from street musicians who attached many instruments to their bodies and played them all at once, so one person sounded like a whole band made by one man. That's why today it means 'a person who does many tasks alone'.