Posted by Peter H on August 28, 2003 at 16:07:13 from 213.122.146.7 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: Formality posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on August 28, 2003 at 14:30:22:
We used 'man' at school (Grammar) in certain circumstances, meaning 'boy'. The most obvious use is in cricket - 'Third Man' etc, and 'you need another man on the boundary'. We never said 'boy' or chap' here. Schoolmasters would sometimes say 'Good man!' as a compliment (didn't happen too often). In this sense 'man' was always sporting or complimentary - it implied you were acting in a grown-up way. I don't know whether 'man' is used at schools now - I suspect only at the more old-style public (ie private) schools, which would include Dick's (Shrewsbury, according to a view on Tarboard a few months ago).