I am in the process of translating Sister Sledge's "B.Y.O.B" song into Russian. Could you please help me to grasp the meaning of the "Man of the room" idiom used in this song?
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2Can you provide some context? I.e., some of the other lines of the song that mention the phrase? – HaL Mar 28 '11 at 14:40
"Man of the" is used to describe the most important man or the man in control of whatever the object is. "Man of the house" is the most common phrase; "man of the room" would be a variant. It describes someone who is probably known by most of the people in the room or is the one person who could be labeled as the most powerful; richest; etc. Without more context from the song it will be hard to pin down the precise meaning.
Other uses you may hear (with mixed acceptance):
Man of the barbecue
Man of the remote
Man of the year
"Man" is, of course, just one word that could be used:
Woman of the remote
Person of the year
Dog of the house
The phrase is extremely flexible.
I listened to the song here. I think the line you are referring to is "You've been hitting on every man in the room." at 00:20. In other words, the woman the song is addressed to has shown up at a B.Y.O.B. (bring your own baby) party without a date and is trying to steal someone else's man.
answered Mar 28 '11 at 15:26
