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• garden-variety
  garden-variety

  adjective

  common, usual, or ordinary; unexceptional.
• garden variety
  garden variety

  Ordinary, common, as in I don't want anything special in a VCR—the garden variety will do. This term alludes to a common plant as opposed to a specially bred hybrid. [Colloquial; 1920]

garden-variety

American  

[gahr-dn-vuh-rahy-i-tee] / ˈgɑr dn vəˌraɪ ɪ ti /

adjective

1. common, usual, or ordinary; unexceptional.

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garden variety Idioms  

1. Ordinary, common, as in I don't want anything special in a VCR—the garden variety will do. This term alludes to a common plant as opposed to a specially bred hybrid. [Colloquial; 1920]

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Etymology

Origin of garden-variety

First recorded in 1925–30

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

garden-variety garden variety

“A relationship with a subordinate is so garden-variety, it’s not going to influence that many board members other than for them to say, ‘Let’s give this person a warning,’” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

“For now this is a garden-variety sell-off,” he said.

From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026

Of course, more force than your typical garden-variety arrest warrant was required, hence the military aspect.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 10, 2026

Beck and Woods don’t have to dream up something alien when these kinds of garden-variety predators are common.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024

As he approached the fiery grey apparition, he was fairly sure it was a garden-variety wraith - a lost soul who had died in pain.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

The index’s drawdown isn’t even close to a garden variety “correction,” or a 10% or greater drop.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

This is not another garden variety Latin genre list, but a highlight reel of 2025 releases that showcases artists from Latin America and the diaspora.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

In other words, it was never intended to be nor has it ever been used as a power to deport people without due process for garden variety criminal activity — or no crime at all.

From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2025

That means that a single federal fraud statute prohibits the most diabolical schemes along with the garden variety cons.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2023

Green Valley was appalled at this terrible confession, at the absence in one of its sons of even the common garden variety of courage.

From Green Valley by Katharine Reynolds

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