The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline: "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."
In the 1969 song "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the singer finds protection from "the man" and salvation from his working-class pains in the nurturing spirit and generosity of simple people who "are happy to give" even "if you have no money.
[6] In January 2021, the GameStop short squeeze was primarily triggered to "fight the man"[7][8][9] by users of the subreddit r/wallstreetbets, an Internet forum on the social news website Reddit, some of whom held anger towards Wall Street hedge funds for their role in the 2007–2008 financial crisis,[10] and the general democratization of the stock market coupled with the ability of retail traders to communicate instantaneously through social media.
This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, who is afraid of other people in society, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)."
It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.