Joe Schmoe

English Alternative forms en Joe Schmo, en Joe Shmo, en Joe Shmoe Etymology 1940s; from en Joe (as in en average Joe) and diminishing shm-reduplication, en schm- Joe. Perhaps reinforced by the expression en schmo dummy. Proper noun Joe Schmoe en US informal derogatory or humorous The typical, everyday person who does not have any special status, frequently in contrast to some group. en Joe Average Joe Bloggs Joe Blow Joe Doakes Joe Public Joe Q. Public John Q. Public J. Random User man on the street en John Doe Jane Doe ; Richard Roe Jane Roe en everyman#Noun Tom, Dick or Harry Joe Sixpack Related terms en schmo References Feinsilver, Lillian Mermin, 1956, Schmo, Schmog, and Schnook, American Speech, Duke UP, Vol. 31 No. 3, pages 236-237. (etymology) schmuck, Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, Oxford University Press (etymology) Gold, David L., 1988, Review of Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America by Sol Steinmetz, American Speech, Duke UP, Vol. 63 No. 3, page 276. en People en placeholder terms rhyming phrases