so-and-so
Americannoun
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someone or something not definitely named.
to gossip about so-and-so.
-
a bastard; son of a bitch (used as a euphemism).
Tell the old so-and-so to mind his own business.
noun
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a person whose name is forgotten or ignored
so-and-so came to see me
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euphemistic a person or thing regarded as unpleasant or difficult
which so-and-so broke my razor?
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of so-and-so
First recorded in 1590–1600
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.
See Examples For:
At Studio City, I overheard two moms in white pants and cashmere sweaters talking about how, based on their Instagram recon, they figured out that so-and-so was sitting next to so-and-so at a benefit dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
John Jeanson isn’t an AI such-and-such or a crypto so-and-so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
You knew, when you walked into a courtroom and said “I am so-and-so, representing the government or representing the United States of America,” that what you said carried credibility.
From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2025
Asked whether Barry would approve of his role, he replies: "He loves it, I know he does. He's always said I was a nasty so-and-so."
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025
Girls cried because so-and-so wouldn’t sit by them at lunch, or because their best friend had a new boyfriend who monopolized her time.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Hoover’s men are smug, citified so-and-sos in trim suits who set great store by fancy crime-fighting techniques like fingerprint analysis, wiretaps, two-way radios and aerial surveillance.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2019
Around New York City, it seemed, there was a tiny enclave of impassioned, well-fed so-and-sos who had all gone mad for this will-o’-the-wisp of a savory.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2011
If you're going to indict this long line of greedy so-and-sos for causing financial crashes, you also have to credit them with all the intervening periods of prosperity.
From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 20, 2010
They say the image of public servants in parts of the media as "lazy, idle so-and-sos, on massive wages" is unfair.
From The Guardian ● May 22, 2010
I was cheered, with the high-pitched yipeee! of New Texans and adjured and implored not to let them so-and-sos get away with it.
From Lone Star Planet by Piper, H. Beam
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.
