- published: 14 Dec 2009
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"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.
The earliest recorded use[citation needed] of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." [dubious – discuss] In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is a street dancer and actor from Warrington, England. He won the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14.
In 2007, a dance teacher called Dominic Chambers told Sampson that there were auditions in the area that would be right up his alley. He only discovered he'd be auditioning for the first series of Britain's Got Talent when he arrived. In his audition, he danced to "Drop" (Timbaland feat. Magoo & Fatman Scoop), receiving a yes vote from all three judges. However, despite Simon Cowell's enthusiasm, he was unable to convince the other two judges, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, to let Sampson proceed to the live semi-finals. This experience made Sampson determined to re-audition the following year and prove Holden and Morgan wrong. In the intervening time, he continued dancing on the streets of Manchester to improve his technique, and to raise money for his family.
In 2008, Sampson successfully got through the first round of Britain's Got Talent series 2 auditions by dancing to "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)". He then came top in the audience's vote in his semi-final with his arrangement of Mint Royale's big beat remix of "Singin' in the Rain", complete with an artificial rain machine on-stage, a formula that had previously been produced in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf GTI. He subsequently won the audience's vote in the final, beating dance duo Signature (second place) and Andrew Johnston (third place). He broke into tears when his win was announced. Sampson was due to perform a different routine for the final, to a track by the Bee Gees, which he described as involving "a lot of movement without me actually doing anything". An hour before the final started he changed his mind and, after consulting Simon Cowell, opted to re-perform his winning act from the semi-final.