Use of Passive form + てみる

Question

男が、そんなこと言われてみろ。一、二もなく、なついちまう

How to take the 言われてみろ?

"A guy being told that" + "try being"?

Answer 1

It is more or less try ...ing, but the translation does not work because the subject is 3rd person.

The usage means suppose that..., so If a guy were told such a thing, then he would ...

---

In case of 2nd person subject:

• あいつにそんなこと言ってみろ、

Try saying that to him should make sense, but it can also be suppose you say that to him.

Answer 2

This type of -てみろ is typically used like this:

動いてみろ、命はないぞ。
Move, and you're a dead man.

See:

• The てごらん structure seems to be a little different in this context
• Confusing use of imperative in a threat

The original sentence implies "She/You shouldn't say something like that to a man (otherwise something bad will happen)."

You can remember this -てみろ (-てごらん, -てみなさい) as a pattern to dramatically express a condition along with its undesirable outcome. When used like this, even though it's in the imperative form, the imperative meaning has been lost, so it can take a third-person subject.