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Joe College

American  

noun

  1. a personification of a typical male U.S. college student, especially in the 1930s.


Etymology

Origin of Joe College

First recorded in 1935–40; modeled on Joe Blow

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.

“Looking like an American Joe College in sports clothes and a porkpie hat,” according to an Associated Press story.

From Washington Post

He previously worked at St. Joe College in Rensselaer before it closed following last school year.

From Washington Times

Thematically, “Mrs. Fletcher” overlaps with his earlier works, including “Little Children,” “The Abstinence Teacher” and “Joe College,” which take place on school campuses and in suburban neighborhoods, and often explore the culture wars and the friction that arises when the gap between people’s public and private selves is exposed.

From New York Times

Some of his earliest works, like “Bad Haircut” and “Joe College,” were semi-autobiographical coming-of-age stories about suburban boys on the cusp of adulthood.

From New York Times

As he demonstrated in “Joe College” and “Election,” he knows how to capture the hilarious contradictions of teenagers.

From Washington Post