low man on the totem pole

Idioms  

1. Low in rank, least important person, as in I just joined the board so I'm low man on the totem pole. This slangy expression is thought to have been invented by the American comedian Fred Allen about 1940 and caught on despite its lack of application to a genuine totem pole.

---

Example Sentences

“I was a skinny freshman — a low man on the totem pole — and this made me feel like a rebel.’

From New York Times

I was a production assistant so I was the low man on the totem pole, worrying about everything from music for the show, to graphics, to booking the limousines and hotels for the talent and the production team.

From Los Angeles Times

She compares the two: “If you are successful and get a job as a staff writer, you are one of many on a writing staff, you are the low man on the totem pole, so the expectation is not that you’re going to come in and know everything,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m not Rambo. Never pretended to be Rambo. We were surrounded by great people. Out of all the guys I was working with, I’m the low man on the totem pole. And I understood that,” Mullin told Baier.

From Seattle Times

He said Tuesday that there’s been a “rush to judgment” and that federal authorities are going after “the low man on the totem pole.”

From Washington Times