inner man—
1. the spiritual part of man; the soul or mind:
- Self-reflection is the only method of learning what is the inner man or mind that our action expresses.
2. (joc.) one’s appetite for food:
- I wonder if a little something could be provided to pacify the inner man?
inside man—
1. smb. employed within a building; a man working indoors:
- Counting the number of hours worked, the outside men are given an equal amount of employment with the inside men.
2. a trusted person within an organization:
- With our inside man being a part of the President’s staff, we should not have any problem dealing with the White House.
3. an undercover agent working in an organization:
- Ward has just informed me that our inside man made contact with him.
See also: outer man / outside man.