man to manadv.adj.n.
/ˌman tə ˈman/, U.S. /ˌmæn tə ˈmæn/ A. adv.
1. One person to another, face to face; with each person on one side in a battle, sporting contest, etc., matched or paired with one on the other side. Cf. man for man at man n.1 17d, man-on-man at man n.1 11c.
ΚΠ
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) x. vi. 166 Thai fewtyr fut to fut and man to man.
1577 tr. ‘F. de L'Isle’ Legendarie sig. Ciij The lord of Rochefort..was on a time chalenged man to man..by Francis Duke of Guise.
1606 L. Bryskett Disc. Ciuill Life 65 This kind of chalenging and fighting man to man.
1692 O. Walker Greek & Rom. Hist. 160 If any one killed an Enemy in any Velitation or pickering when they fought man to man, he was rewarded with a Spear without a head.
a1770 C. Smart Duellist 38 The morning came—and man to man, The grand monomachy began.
1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. 4 At last Ascanius met him man to man and slew him in single fight.
1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South II. xxv. 334 Once brought face to face, man to man..they had each begun to recognize that ‘we have all of us one human heart’.
1955 Times 5 Aug. 7/3 Talks man to man can serve the great international peace settlement.
1994 Denver Post 18 Dec. b9/2 We tried to play them man-to-man because we'd seen what they did to teams who tried to zone them.
2005 Star-Herald (Scottsbluff/Gering, Nebraska) 31 Dec. (Sports) 1B/4 In the fourth quarter we changed and played man-to-man, and that sparked our defense.
2. As one man to another; frankly, straightforwardly. Chiefly with reference to a way of speaking.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb] > frankly
freelyeOE
unreservedly1708
candidly1762
outspokenly1855
straight1874
man to man1902
(straight) from the shoulder1904
squat1909
1902 A. Morrison Hole in Wall (1905) xvii. 216 If I make a fair deal, man to man, with them notes, an' get money for 'em instead o' smuggin'—quids instead o' quod—I'll have my proper reg'lars, won't I?
1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer ix. 146 Perry spread his palms wide. ‘Why don't you ask her?’ Confidentially, man-to-man. ‘I'd like to do it just to show her our gratitude for that week-end.’
1974 A. Price Other Paths to Glory i. iii. 30 We must talk man-to-man now—if you would leave us for a moment, Mrs. Mitchell.
1987 T. Wolfe Bonfire of Vanities xvi. 345 One of the Leather Men looked at Sherman and smiled, man to man.
B. adj. Frequently in form man-to-man.
1. Face-to-face; consisting of one person matched against another; from one person to another.
ΚΠ
1901 E. A. Ross Social Control 29 So long as the struggle is man to man..a conscience is a handicap.
1932 E. Bowen To North xxiii. 247 Sheer man-to-man envy of Markie for cutting so much ice.
1956 Nature 3 Mar. 407/2 When a zoonosis gets under way, man-to-man contact may be sufficent to keep the infection spreading.
1973 Nature 12 Jan. 92/1 Man-to-man spread of Lassa virus undoubtedly takes place through contact with blood or infectious secretions.
1991 M. Pearce Mamur Zapt (BNC) 171 Sesostris does it all personally. The Copts like that. It's always man-to-man stuff with them. Funny, considering how they also like to put it all down on paper.
2. Designating a type or style of communication held exclusively between men, esp. of an earnest or frank nature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [adjective] > straightforward or frank
right fortha1382
plaina1393
free-hearteda1398
round1487
opena1535
sincere1539
frank1555
pert1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
direct1586
open-hearted1593
open-breasted1594
transparent1600
unclose1606
unminced1648
even down1654
unreserved1654
rugged1678
plain sailing1707
whole-footed1744
sturdy1775
heart-in-mouth1827
jannock1828
straightforward1829
direct-dealing1830
undiplomatic1834
straight-ahead1836
straight-up-and-down1859
man to man1902
1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It ix. 239 The best ‘man to man’ tone at his command.
1908 Daily Chron. 11 Aug. 4/5 Another form of suasion is the ‘man-to-man’ talk.
1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Sat. xxi. 167 'E remembered..an' stood me a pint. Now that's what I call man-to-man style.
1958 E. Hyams Taking it Easy 49 Bachelor had a brisk, man-to-man style [of writing] which was immensely popular.
1993 A. Higgins Lions of Grunewald xxviii. 178 ‘Do they serve drinks down below in your submarine, Paddy me boy?’ Mick Murnane asked in a jovial man-to-man way.
3. Sport (originally U.S., used esp. in Football and Basketball). Designating a mode of playing, an arrangement of players, etc., in which each individual player marks just one other on the opposing team. Chiefly in man-to-man defence; cf. zone defence n. at zone n. Compounds 1b. See also man for man at man n.1 17d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [adjective] > formation
man to man1922
man-for-man1923
wishbone1972
1922 E. J. Mather & E. D. Mitchell Basket Ball ix. 74 The professional team favors the man-to-man defense.
1927 G. S. Warner Football Coaches & Players 191 There are three..systems of defense to forward passing. These are zone defense, the man-to-man defense, and a modified form of man-to-man defense.
1937 F. C. Allen Better Basketball xviii. 291 It is to be noticed in charting these penetrating offensive plays against a zone defense that the setup of the offense is identical with that used in penetrating the man-for-man defense.
1957 Encycl. Brit. III. 181 b/2 There are several variations of the zone defense, and combinations of man-to-man and zone defense.
1970 G. Sullivan Pro Football A to Z 341 Zone defense, a type of pass defense in which each of the three linebackers and four deep backs is assigned to cover a specific area of the field. Zone defense contrasts with man-to-man defense.
1989 L. Holtz & J. Heisler Fighting Spirit (1990) xiv. 163 We were playing Purdue the next week—a team that plays a lot of man-to-man coverage.
2006 Star-Herald (Scottsbluff/Gering, Nebraska) 24 Feb. (Sports) 2B Gering managed to cut the deficit to 5–4.., but after that the Bearcats' man-to-man defense hounded Gering the rest of the half.
C. n.
American Football and Basketball. Short for man-to-man defence at sense B. 3. Cf. zone n. 2d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > actions or manoeuvres > pre-arranged
route1919
pattern1949
man to man1971
1971 San Francisco Chron. 26 Jan. 39/5 In the man-to-man, cornerbacks each take a wide receiver, the strong safety takes the tight end and linebackers pick up backs coming out as receivers... There are variations in the techniques of the man-to-man.
1979 Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times 27 May 8 a/7 The defense must be a man-to-man with no presses or zones allowed.
1990 Sports Illustr. 8 Oct. 96/2 We mixed zone and man-to-man, and we brought pressure from the outside that he didn't expect.
1992 Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times 21 Jan. 15/1 Defense was something unfamiliar to the Cannoneers..as visiting Cazenovia College picked apart the JCC 1-3-1 zone and man-to-man for just about any shot it wanted.
Derivatives
man-to-ˈman-ness n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1948 Dublin Rev. ii. 11 The [Chinese] character for ‘jen’ is made up of ‘man’ and ‘two’... I translate it ‘man-to-man-ness’.
man-to-ˈmannish adj. rare
ΚΠ
1940 N. Marsh Surfeit of Lampreys (1941) x. 141 Mike gave Alleyn a man-to-mannish look.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.n.a1522