Date:    Tue, 9 Jun 1998 10:28:37 -0400
<br>From:    Jesse T Sheidlower <jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PANIX.COM>
<br>Subject: Re: "You the man"
<br>
<br>Just thought I'd point out that we do have the base of
<br>this expression in HDAS; under the entry for "the man"
<br>(which we divide into nine subsenses), sense "f" is
<br>"Black E. a man who is highly accomplished or respected;
<br>the best man in a given field or at a particular time."
<br>The earliest is 1952, but one of the cites refers to
<br>1923. We didn't bother to separate out the phrase "you
<br>the man!," but we have a few examples from the early
<br>1990s; I'm sure we could find much earlier examples if
<br>we had treated this as a distinct phrase.
<br>
<br>Jesse Sheidlower
<br><jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]panix.com>
<br>