about use of the expression "MAN!" / does it have meaning?

Question

We often use the word "man" as an expression (as in "cool, man!"). I don't think it actually means anything, but when I say "man", certain females say "I'm not a man".

Does "man" really mean a "male" in this case? Is it not appropriate to say that to women?

Answer 1

In this case, it's a nothing word that just serves to intensify the expression. But, many people don't like nothing words. Like, if you say "Hey, guys!" some people will say, "Hay is for horses -- straw is cheaper, grass is free, cows eat it, why don't we?" Which is very annoying!

Speaking of annoying, I used to use the phrase, "Go ahead" with a guy, and he'd always say, "Who are you calling gourd head?" Finally, I had to say, "You, gourd head. Now finish what you were saying!" He thought it was a nothing word, but I thought it was a useful phrase to keep the conversation smooth.

My point is, people find a phrase annoying and they retaliate with another annoying phrase. You either learn not to use the annoying phrase, or you learn to escalate, and come up with something REALLY annoying to say back. For ex, to the girls who say, "I'm not a man," you could say, "Nooo! You could have fooled me!" (-: Although that will really make them upset! Probably best to just ignore it.

Answer 2

I suspect it arose as in reaction to the southern term "boy," as a relatively respectful form of address, but I could be wrong.

Guess its not really appropriate to use on females, but probably no worse than "woman" or "puny human"