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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1650 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 4, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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Or even simpler, man.

The word man has, since time immemorial, had three meanings, with "adult human male" the least salient. And now it technically has a fourth trans-inclusive meaning.

  1. Person, assumed male because patriarchy but in theory inclusive of women. Latin homo. Usage includes "Rights of Man", "Peace and goodwill among men", compounds such as "mankind", "fireman", "chairman" etc.
  2. Person displaying the classical masculine virtues (or sometimes by extension capable-of-displaying or expected-to-display). Latin vir. Usage includes "Margaret Thatcher was the last real man in Number 10 Downing Street". (Incidentally, a true statement when given its intended meaning)
  3. Adult human male. Usage mostly restricted to toilet designation.

2 seems dodgy to me. It's metaphorically true but not definitionally or literally true. Somebody talking about your brass testes is not going to suggest selling them to a metallurgist.

I was joking a bit about Thatcher - I think that counts as a non-literal usage. But I think expressions like "be a man", "man up", "turning boys into men" etc. and compounds including "manly" and "manliness" are using sense 2 literally.

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