stick it to the man

verb

To take some action intended to defy a source of oppression such as globalization, commercialization, big business or government (on a large scale) or individual leaders and authorities like teachers, bosses, police, or politicians.

“Paula not only told her boss that she quit but also told him to shut up. Way to stick it to the man!”

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Meanings

verbstick it to the man (third-person singular simple present sticks it to the man, present participle sticking it to the man, simple past and past participle stuck it to the man)

present singular third person sticks it to the man · participle present sticking it to the man · participle past stuck it to the man · past stuck it to the man

  1. idiomaticinformalintransitiveTo take some action intended to defy a source of oppression such as globalization, commercialization, big business or government (on a large scale) or individual leaders and authorities like teachers, bosses, police, or politicians.

    Paula not only told her boss that she quit but also told him to shut up. Way to stick it to the man!

    1 more example

    What could be more delightful than a trip to Greece to meet Yanis Varoufakis, the charismatic leftwing firebrand who tried to stick it to the man, AKA the IMF, EU and entire global financial order?

    2023 September 24, Carole Cadwalladr, “‘Capitalism is dead. Now we have something much worse’: Yanis Varoufakis on extremism, Starmer, and the tyranny of big tech”, in The Observer, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
fuck the police

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 反抗權威 /反抗权威
  • 反抗權威 /反抗权威 (fǎnkàng quánwēi)take action to defy oppression
Finnish pitää pintansa, pitää puolensa
  • pitää pintansatake action to defy oppression
  • pitää puolensatake action to defy oppression
Polish ucierać nosa, utrzeć nosa
  • ucierać nosatake action to defy oppression
  • utrzeć nosatake action to defy oppression
Portuguese que se lixe o poder
  • que se lixe o podertake action to defy oppression
Cite this entry
APA

stick it to the man. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stick%20it%20to%20the%20man

MLA

“stick it to the man.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stick%20it%20to%20the%20man. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stick it to the man,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stick%20it%20to%20the%20man.

Source: stick it to the man on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.