great unwashed
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of great unwashed
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Toro, his long hair, earring and fondness for holidays in Ibiza had endeared him to the great unwashed.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2023
From the standpoint of the great unwashed these busts were simply delicious, taking down hedge fund managers, CEOs, at least one California winemaker, a Desperate Housewife and Aunt Becky from "Full House."
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2021
The fun irony is that the feckless Commodus has brought the gladiators to Rome as a bread-and-circuses initiative to distract the great unwashed while he seizes total authority over the empire.
From The Guardian ● May 5, 2020
The movie academy considers its “patrician duty to tell the great unwashed what they should be watching,'” not rewarding what viewers pay to see, Cameron told The Daily Beast.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2017
I am now truly a member of the army of the great unwashed and unwashable—no, I take that back.
From Conscript 2989 Experiences of a Drafted Man by Irving Crump
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
