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.
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 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
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 Washington Times ● Feb. 22, 2017
"People accept they're going to be among the great unwashed for a few days and have found ways to deal with it," says Poole.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2013
He shirked the element itself, however, as religiously as though he had been one of London's great unwashed.
From Mystic London: or, Phases of occult life in the metropolis by Charles Maurice Davies
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.
