man to man
/ˌmæn tə ˈmæn/
adjective
- Involving two people speaking honestly and directly, without hiding anything.
- He gave me some man-to-man advice about dealing with stress.
- The coach had a man-to-man talk with the player about his attitude.
- We need to have a man-to-man conversation about what happened.
- In sports, describing a defense where each player guards a specific opponent rather than an area.
- The coach taught us the basics of man-to-man defense at practice.
- The team switched from zone defense to man-to-man in the second half.
- Man-to-man coverage is harder but can be more effective against good shooters.
Antonyms
adverb
- In a direct and honest way between two people.
- Let's sit down and talk man-to-man about this problem.
- I'd rather discuss it man-to-man than send an email.
- They settled their disagreement man-to-man without any lawyers.
- In sports, with each player guarding a specific opponent.
- The guard was assigned to cover the star player man-to-man.
- The team decided to play man-to-man for the rest of the game.
- We practiced defending man-to-man all week.