Half a man

[Belly T]

What is the meaning of "half a man"? I really don't understand it although I had tried to find in the webpage's database

[hector51]

a kid,I think

just my 2 cents

[Ouisch]

It can mean several things, depending upon the context. Can you provide more information as to how it was used?

[Humble]

Hi, Belly,
It's difficult to say without a context. What springs to mind is from the Beatles' "Yesterday"
Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
which means, IMHO, he is much weaker and unhappier.
Or it could as well be taken from a horror story
They found half a man on the beach. = half a body
Regards

[Belly T]

Ha, that's right, "half a man" in Paul's song

[BobK]

Ha, that's right, "half a man" in Paul's song

Look at Humble's reply again - the phrase in Yesterday is 'half the man.'

b

[mgraff]

The phrase is the same whether you use the determiner "a" or "the" but there has to be some context, so I'll provide it for you.

"President Bush is half a man without Karl Rove." but then some would say that Bush has half a brain.

[BobK]

The phrase is the same whether you use the determiner "a" or "the" but there has to be some context, so I'll provide it for you.

Learners should note that this doesn't mean that 'half the man' and 'half a man' are interchangeable. They're not - at least, not in BE.

b