Describing a male as "less than a man"?

[whistlepig]

Recently, some male coworkers and I were having beers and the subject turned to a male coworker who was absent and some of his faults. Somebody described the absent cow-orker by saying,

“He’s never been in a fistfight or bought a bottle of whiskey and thrown the cap away in his life.”

I’m curious about other ways, particularly from overseas Dopers, of describing a male as someone who is, “less than a man”.

Whistlepig

1. Yes, I’m aware that there’s more to being a man than getting drunk and fighting. The coworker is a great guy in many other ways. But the consensous was that if you had to walk into the toughest bar in the world with this man, or alone, you’d be better off to be alone.

2. To us, sexual slurs really don’t count as describing someone as being “less than a man”. “Gay” means that you like to kiss other guys, not that you can’t kick my ass in a fight or the guy drinks only mimosas.

[jastu]

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is a woman’s blouse.
As for someone who is not a fighter can’t fight his way out of a paper bag or someone who doesn’t drink or gamble a wowser.

[TitoBenito]

I’d call a guy who has “never been in a fistfight or bought a bottle of whiskey and thrown the cap away in his life” a vodka drinker with a concealed handgun.

[RandomLetters]

@TitoBenito

I’d call a guy who has “never been in a fistfight or bought a bottle of whiskey and thrown the cap away in his life” a vodka drinker with a concealed handgun.

And James Bond is definatly not less than a man.

[jimdigritz]

heh. He sounds like the kind of guy who’d step outta the shower to take a piss.

[astro]

This is a somewhat stilted and dramatically arch phrase, and I’ve never, ever heard a man or women use this in real world conversation, ever though I’ve seen it used plenty of times in various literature to describle impotence or cowardly behavior. It’s really not phrase that would be used effectively to describe a gay man because his sexual preference is not less mannish, it’s not mannish (in the hetero sense) period.

[astro]

@astro

This is a somewhat stilted and dramatically arch phrase, and I’ve never, ever heard a man or women use this in real world conversation, ever though I’ve seen it used plenty of times in various literature to describle impotence or cowardly behavior. It’s really not phrase that would be used effectively to describe a gay man because his sexual preference is not less mannish, it’s not mannish (in the hetero sense) period.

Sorry should have read the OP more carefully. I got nothing.

[UncleBill]

Wuss.

[Bippy_the_Beardless]

Some English phraises for the OP “Big girl’s Blowse”,“Wet Blanket”,“Softie”,“Lilly Livered”,“Nancy”,“Wimp”.

[matt_mcl]

“He’s never been in a fistfight or bought a bottle of whiskey and thrown the cap away in his life.”

If this is the definition, I guess my word would be “sensible.”

[Shade]

Dickless wonder.
A few balls short of a pair.

FTR: I fit most of the descriptions here. But I get what it means.

[AskNott]

Discretion is the better part of valor, but he’s forgotten the other part.

[Ranchoth]

Sex offenders.

Of course, they’re not just “less then men,” they’re less than human in my book.

[Kaitlyn]

1. Yes, I’m aware that there’s more to being a man than getting drunk and fighting.

There’s more to it than that? Do you mean to imply that these things have anything whatsoever to do with being a man?

The coworker is a great guy in many other ways. But the consensous was that if you had to walk into the toughest bar in the world with this man, or alone, you’d be better off to be alone.

I fail to see how this is a measure of a man.

For what it’s worth, I’d define a man as being a responsible, adult, male. Frequently getting drunk or getting in fights, or going into bars that require one to be tough seem to me to be irresponsible behaviors for the most part.