little man

noun

, (sometimes initial capital letters)

1. the common or ordinary person.
2. Informal. the small, ordinary investor, as opposed to big investment institutions.

little man

noun

1. a man of no importance or significance
2. a tradesman or artisan operating on a small scale

Word History and Origins

Origin of little man¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

In the more than five-minute long call, Mr Stockton could be heard saying "come on little man", "wakey wakey" and "cough it up" before apparently performing CPR on Charlie under direction from the call-handler.

From BBC

Wes Streeting, now health secretary, described Trump as an "odious, sad, little man".

From BBC

Calling Woodward “demented” and “deranged”, Trump campaign spokesperson said: "Woodward is an angry little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously."

From BBC

He took things a step further in 2018, calling the Portuguese "a little man" and "fake".

From BBC

The journalist saw himself as a ‘radical centrist’ in a Daily News career that looked out for the ‘little man,’ challenged police corruption and assailed bureaucrats.

From Los Angeles Times