a girl of a boy; an angel of a man

[Iwanna]

Who might he be, that black pillar of a man? Her son is shy of persons; he is a girl of a boy.

It helps that I've found an angel of a man to marry. I will happily marry him this October.

What do the highlighted expressions mean?

thanks

[Kitosdad]

The son is effeminate. He acts and talks like a little girl.

The girl has found a perfect man, in her opinion. He is without fault.

Kitos.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Milanya]

a girl of a boy. a boy who is as weak as a girl

an angel of a man
a man who is as good as an angel
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Iwanna]

What a strange way to say that! Similarly, Can I say 'a lion of a woman', 'a cry of a laugh', 'a father of a mother', etc?

[Skrej]

Yes, you can use that structure for just about any combination you can imagine. All your proposed examples could be used.

Sometimes there are some additional modifiers placed on that first element in the ______ of a _______ construction.

A real lion of a man, a complete waste of a teacher, a true squeak of a laugh, etc.
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Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
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Did you hear they arrested the Energizer Bunny on battery charges?
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[Iwanna]

Thank you all.