one-man band

See also: one man band

English

Alternative forms

• one man band

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

one-man band (plural one-man bands)

1. A musician who plays several musical instruments at once.
2. (idiomatic, by extension) An organisation or business that is effectively run by only one person.

   Near-synonym: one-man army

   • 2007 December 9, Peter Preston, “Challenges for the rising son”, in The Observer, UK:

     The corporation he will someday inherit—growing, churning—won't work as a one-man band.

   • 2024 July 3, Alexandra Topping, Jim Waterson, Tom Ambrose, “The Sun backs Labour on eve of election as Times also offers cautious support”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     It goes on to argue that the Reform UK party is a “one-man band which at best can win only a handful of MPs”, while the Liberal Democrats are dismissed as “a joke”.

Translations

musician who plays several musical instruments

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一人樂隊／一人乐队 (yīrén yuèduì)

• Finnish: yhden miehen orkesteri
• Polish: człowiek orkiestra m
• Portuguese: homem-orquestra
• Russian: челове́к-орке́стр m (čelovék-orkéstr)
• Spanish: hombre orquesta m

organisation or business run by one person

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 一腳踢／一脚踢 (jat¹ goek³ tek³)

• Finnish: yhden miehen show
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• one-man band on Wikipedia.Wikipedia (musician)