The Man is the head of "the establishment" put in place to "bring us down." Though nobody has physically seen "the man," he is assumed to be a male caucasian between the ages of 25-40 and is rumored to have a substantial amount of acquired wealth, presumably acquired by exploiting those whom his "establishment" is "keeping down."

He is everywhere, but you can stick it to him by playing a lil somethin called rock n roll.

1. n. (derogatory, semi-proper) Term used to describe any class of people who wield power and are seen as oppressive. See also whitey, big brother, corporate america, the establishment (Please note, these synonyms are used as examples of groups who have been called "The Man," and should not be construed as a racist attack)

2. n. (derogatory, proper) Term used to describe an individual who holds authority over another, such as an employment supervisor or police officer. See also, pig, asshole, nazi, fascist.

3. n. (military) Any superior officer who has authority to issue legal punishment. See also brass.

4. n. (complimentary) Term used to describe an individual who has achieved either a great accomplishment, or who is viewed as being an altogether good person. See also the bomb, the shit.

The Man becomes a part of your every day life the very minute you leave college, and lets be honest, as opposed to smiling and shaking hands with the dean while accepting your diploma on graduation day, you should have simply been kicked in the balls.  

But he did begin to emerge even during those blessed college days, with words like internship, resume and the "real world."  "This will look great on my resume!" Don't fool yourself, the resume is a creation of The Man. I mean what is a resume?  Your name and a list of your achievements ranging from school to job experience, or is it a list of failures considering your still looking for something new.  How much can you tell about a person by one single sheet paper and a cover letter talking about you and your five-year plan.

He is also responsible for the cubicle, a confined space with no windows, a jail cell where the time you serve is between the hours of 9 and 5.  Let's not forget the time you have to spend in traffic, or mentally winding down from your day at "work."

Perhaps I am getting a little too ahead of myself, before we attempt to define The Man's many creations, it is important to establish how he functions.  You must understand that the man is behind most everything in life with the sole goal of holding you back and bringing you down.  In today's fast paced and money driven society it is becoming more and more challenging to defy The Man.  You see The Man needs you more than you think, in order for The Man to continue to function he needs you to work, to vacation, to date, to eat, to watch T.V., to drive, etc. (the list continues forever).  I know what your saying, these are things everyone does... that is the catch, you do all of these things on The Mans watch.  He decides when you do just about everything.  You work from 9 - 5, you sit in traffic or metro lines before and after, you vacation 2 out of 52 possible weeks, you eat during your lunch break, you date and go out after work. 

The few who have successfully defied the Man do many of the same things as everyone else, but they do it whenever and wherever they want.  Who are these people you ask? People who chose an alternative lifestyle free of rush hour, cubicles, conference calls, and performance reviews.  People who decided that life is too short to compete in the rat race for essentially a life of climbing up the corporate food chain in order to improve on ones lifestyle through title and material possession.  Those who have successfully defied the man live their lives in many different ways, some chase a dream that wouldn't be possible to achieve while working a normal job, others risk everything to build something great, and others simply explore some of the amazing places and things life has to offer that one cant see behind a computer screen.

I hope the above information hasn't discouraged you; it is not intended to do so.  We simply realize that for the majority of us The Man will continue to play a major role in each and every one of our lives.  This website is intended to provide all of us with a sanctuary free of The Mans day to day efforts to hold us back.  A forum designed to post, present, and discuss anything of funny and valuable substance to help us understand the many ways The Man works.  So please feel free to contribute to Ftheman.com, after all it is a website dedicated to you, the common working man.

A reference to any sort of authority, be it the police, the government, the boss, or, in a more abstract sense, the general high- or ruling-class.

The proverbial man.

He is ambitious. He is what is the head of the world, and nobody likes the man. He ruins careers. He ruins dreams. He sets standards that no one can live up to. He abuses those close to him.

The man is an over ambitious, heartless twat.

government, president, or anyone higher in authority
(usually being veiwed in a negative way)