mystery mann.2
/ˈmɪst(ə)rɪ man/, U.S. /ˈmɪst(ə)ri ˌmæn/ 1. A man versed in mysteries or occult knowledge; spec. a North American Indian medicine man. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > non-European magic (miscellaneous) > [noun] > sorcerer or medicine man > American Indian
medicine man1801
medicine1817
medicine woman1834
mystery1841
mystery man1841
mediciner1852
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > a profound secret, mystery > [noun] > person > man
mystery man1910
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians I. vi. 39 Their physicians, who are also medicine (or mystery) men.
1865 J. Bright in Daily Tel. 13 July 2/5 Mr. Disraeli..is what among a tribe of Indians would be called the ‘mystery man’.
1874 E. Eastman Seven & Nine Years among Camanches & Apaches 188 From this time forth he was an honored and puissant warrior, chief, and mystery man.
1910 Encycl. Brit. III. 570/1 ‘Adventurer’, as applied to Disraeli, was a mere term of abuse. ‘Mystery-man’ had much of the same intention.
a1916 A. Seeger Poems (1917) 43 Thou art the secret in the crystal where, For the last light upon the mystery Man, In his lone tower and ultimate despair, Searched the gray-bearded Zoroastrian.
2. A man about whom little or nothing is known; an enigmatic or secretive man.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [noun] > instance of > person
unknowna1400
ignote1636
inconnu1807
dark horse1841
incognita1882
mystery man1922
no-name1984
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > state of being acquainted > acquaintance > unknown person
strangerc1385
mystery man1922
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiii. [Nausicaa] 358 The Mystery Man on the Beach, prize titbit story by Mr Leopold Bloom.
1933 H. G. Wells Shape of Things to Come i. 112 That Mystery Man of Mystery Men, Sir Basil Zaharoff, the armaments salesman.
1972 G. Lyall Blame the Dead ii. 10 You sounded a bit of a mystery man in those stories this morning—they'll want to know more.
1995 Guardian 26 July i. 2/2 Without warning a man in a fur suit dashed on stage and proceeded to do an extremely funky chicken. Jiggling and shaking, the mystery man kept it up for a good 20 minutes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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