great unwashed

or Great Unwashed

noun

1. the general public; the populace or masses.

Word History and Origins

Origin of great unwashed¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The dress code for Monday's red carpet is The Garden of Time, which shares its name with a dystopian tale written in 1962 by JG Ballard, in which the last bastion of the super-rich is overrun by a working-class mob of the "great unwashed".

From BBC

At Toro, his long hair, earring and fondness for holidays in Ibiza had endeared him to the great unwashed.

From BBC

I was a member of the great unwashed who attended public school.

From Salon

He eventually played with more than 100 bands, including the Great Unwashed, the Sundae Painters and Monsterland, and lived for almost 30 years in New York, where he formed the band the Mad Scene.

From New York Times

“For example, he could not understand why I, a ‘gentleman’ who had attended the ‘right’ schools, still associated with the ‘great unwashed,’ ” Mr. Eisenberg recounted.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• circle
• congregation
• crew
• group
• horde
• lot
• mass
• mob
• pack
• party
• people
• press
• sellout
• throng