411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Joe Public
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Pronunciation
en En-au-Joe Public.ogg AU
Proper noun
Joe Public
en idiomatic A hypothetical average or generic member of the public; the common man (or person, by extension).
en Quoting Joe Public proved a dangerous game in the 2008 US presidential elections after he was personified in Joe 'the' Plumber, an actual plumber without previous media exposure.
Synonyms
en Joe Average
en John Q. Public
Translations
a hypothetical average or generic member of the public
Dutch: nl Jan Modaal m, nl Jan met de pet m
Finnish: fi Pihtiputaan mummo
French: fr Tartempion
German: de Ottonormalverbraucher m, de Otto Normalverbraucher m
Italian: it Pinco Pallino m
Polish: pl Jan Kowalski m-pr
Swedish: sv medelsvensson
See also
en Joe Bloggs John Doe J. Random User man on the Clapham omnibus Tom, Dick or Harry
en eponyms placeholder terms