man in the street

American  

noun

1. the ordinary person; the average citizen.

   the political opinions of the man in the street.

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man in the street British  

noun

1. the typical or ordinary person, esp as a hypothetical unit in statistics

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man in the street Idioms  

1. Also, woman in the street. An ordinary, average person, as in It will be interesting to see how the man in the street will answer that question. This expression came into use in the early 1800s when the votes of ordinary citizens began to influence public affairs. Today it is used especially in the news media, where reporters seek out the views of bystanders at noteworthy events, and by pollsters who try to predict the outcome of elections.

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Etymology

Origin of man in the street

First recorded in 1825–35