What does the phrase “I want to talk to you man to man” mean?
Growing up in Nebraska, it always meant you wanted to have a discussion about a woman.
In New Jersey, I recently discovered “I want to talk to you man to man” means you want to fight. I was lucky I used that phrase with a friend who waited to have the discussion first before telling me he thought I wanted to beat him up.
In Nebraska that phrase is subtle and quiet while in New Jersey it is an indicator of the violence to come.
Have you ever used the “I want to talk to you man to man” phrase before? If so, in what instances was it forged and do you find that phrase has different meanings in different social or regional circumstances?