garden-variety

[gahr-dn-vuh-rahy-i-tee]

adjective

1. common, usual, or ordinary; unexceptional.

Word History and Origins

Origin of garden-variety¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases

Ordinary, common, as in I don't want anything special in a VCR—the garden variety will do. This term alludes to a common plant as opposed to a specially bred hybrid. [Colloquial; 1920]

Example Sentences

There’s no saying when the next major bear market will send Americans to the mattresses—maybe through the collapse of AI mania, or possibly just a garden-variety recession.

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There’s no particular reason to think Mr. Roberts is an antisemite or a racist as opposed to a garden-variety fool, and he’s spent the past week reassuring the public that he disagrees with Mr. Fuentes on the substance.

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This shutdown isn't your garden-variety gridlock -- it's already the second-longest in history and neither side looks close to backing down.

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It doesn’t matter that Bankman-Fried’s convictions weren’t really about crypto either, but garden-variety fraud.

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This week’s Slate News Quiz is more than your garden-variety diversion.

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