Man-tough-no wonder-dime

[nambeo]

1) Come on man!

- Why do we use " man" here?

2) That's tough!

-This means " it's not lucky!", right?

3) No wonder!

- This means "Of course!", right?

4) Not even a single dime.

- What does this sentence mean?

Thanks a lot.

Nambeo

[ProfessorVerb]

1) Come on man!

- Why do we use " man" here?

2) That's tough!

-This means " it's not lucky!", right?

3) No wonder!

- This means "Of course!", right?

4) Not even a single dime.

- What does this sentence mean?

Thanks a lot.

Nambeo

1) "Man" in this case, is used as a familiar term such as "friend" or "buddy." In this case: "Come on, man!" "man" helps to make the demand a little more friendly than the absolute command: "Come on!" (no one likes to be told what to do...) In this usage, "man" is a leftover from the 1950s and 1960s when it could be used to refer to either men or women ("Hey, man, don't bogart that joint!") Today, though, if it does not refer to gender, "man" usually refers to the white establishment: "Go to work and pay taxes; that's what the man (or "the Man") wants you to do."

2) "That's tough." This is a versatile word and can mean "That's unfortunate" (main meaning), but it can also mean "That's cool" (less common). Also used in combination with various vulgarities (e.g., tough s*** to mean same thing as "that's unfortunate").

3) "No wonder" means "of course" -- absolutely right. Also used as "It's little wonder that ..." as in "It's little wonder everyone has trouble learning this darn language."

4) "Not even a single dime." -- "Dime" is another great word that can mean a dozen things; while I have not heard this particular expression before, it means someone is not willing to pay any amount for something, "not even a single dime." "He insulted my girlfriend. I won't pay him his asking price for his car now, not even a single dime." (see "thin dime" reference below)

Some other interesting uses of "dime" (besides a 10-cent piece) include:

a 10-year prison sentence
a thousand dollars (usually when gambling)
to inform on someone ("To drop a dime" = SING, SQUEAL
nickel and dime (inexpensive or cheap stuff)
stop on a dime (great brakes on that car!)
thin dime (a small amount)
dime bag ($10 worth of narcotics)
a dime a dozen (common and cheap)
dime store (a five-and-ten cent store, not seen much anymore in the U.S.) (see TG&Y in Google if interested)

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Dr. Robert L. Chapman's New Dictionary of American Slang, 1986