man in the moon
/ˌmæn ən ðə ˈmun/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.67 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
An image of a man perceived in the dark maria (plains or "seas") and light highlands or other features of the Moon, originally regarded as a man with a burden on his back or accompanied by a small dog, and now more commonly as a man's face in the full moon or his profile in a crescent moon; hence, an imaginary man thought to be living on the Moon.
Example Sentences
- "Cal[iban]. Ha'ſt thou not dropt from heauen ? / Ste[phano]. Out o'th Moone I doe aſſure thee. I vvas the Man ith' Moone, vvhen time vvas. / Cal. I haue ſeene thee in her: and I doe adore thee: My Miſtris [Miranda] ſhevv'd me thee, and thy Dog, and thy Buſh."
- "Thy VVife is a Conſtellation of Vertues; ſhe's the Moon, and thou art the Man in the Moon: Nay, ſhe is more Illuſtrious than the Moon; for ſhe has her Chaſtity vvithout her Inconſtancy, 'S'bud I vvas but in Jeſt."
- "I knevv vvell enough at firſt, that theſe vvere mad, hare-brain'd Notions, and I thought no more of being ſerious in them, than I thought of being a Man in the Moon: […]"
- "I declare, quoth my uncle, I knovv no more vvhich it is, than the man in the moon;—[…]"
- "[H]ow my little bit of dinner slides itself down my throat, I know no more than a man in the moon."
- "As to all the higher questions which determine the starting-point of a diagnosis—as to the philosophy of medical evidence—any glimmering of these can only come from a scientific culture of which country practitioners have usually no more notion than the man in the moon."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmæn ən ðə ˈmun/
- British English: /ˌmæn ɪn ðə ˈmuːn/