See Also:

old man (iou)



old man noun & adjectival phr. ME.
[from OLD adjective + MAN noun.]
A. noun phr. Pl. old men .
a. lit. An elderly or aged man; spec. one's father. Now also, a woman's husband or partner. ME.
F. O'Connor She gave the old man a pair of glasses this Christmas. R. J. Conley An old man sitting beside the road carving a pipe.
b. Theatrical. An actor playing an old man, esp. one who specializes in such roles. Also, such a role. M18.
c. A person in authority over others, as (a) a ship's captain; (b) a commanding officer; (c) a boss. colloq. M19.
P. B. Yuill The old man wants to hear a progress report.
d. Used as a familiar form of address between men. L19.
R. Boldrewood Take another tumbler, old man.
Theology. Unregenerate human nature. LME.
Mining. An exhausted or long-abandoned vein or working. Also, waste devoid of ore left from the working of a mine. M17.
= chestnut-bellied CUCKOO. Jamaican. L17.
A full-grown male kangaroo. Austral. E19.
The herb southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum, so called from its hoary foliage. E19.
The penis. slang. E20.
Phrases: dirty old man: see DIRTY adjective. grand old man: see GRAND adjective1. old man of the mountains [with allus. to the nickname of an early leader of the assassins] a political assassin; a ruthlessly ambitious person. old man of the sea [with allus. to the sea-god in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments who forced Sinbad the Sailor to carry him on his shoulders for many days and nights] a person from whose company one cannot easily escape; a tiresome heavy burden.
b. attrib. or as adjectival phr. That is or resembles an old man; Austral. & NZ colloq. of great size or significance. M19.
Special collocations & comb.: old-man bird = sense A.4 above. old-man cactus a Mexican cactus, Cephalocereus senilis, covered with long grey hairs. old-man kangaroo = A.5 above. Old Man River the Mississippi. old man saltbush a shrubby Australian orache, Atriplex nummularia, with grey-green leaves, used as food for sheep in dry areas. old man's beard (a) N. Amer. Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides; (b) traveller's joy, Clematis vitalba, or (Austral.) its close ally C. aristata, which both have grey-bearded fruits.
old-mannish adjective characteristic or suggestive of an old man M19.