John Q. Public
Typical ordinary person
John Q.
Public is a placeholder name for an ordinary American citizen, the average person on the street.
The name evokes someone unremarkable and representative of the general population: What does John Q. Public think about the new tax law?
Similar to Joe Blow or the man on the street, the term appears in discussions of public opinion or policy impact on everyday people.
Legal national member
- voterBallot-casting citizen
- taxpayerOne who owes government duties
- constituentMember of electoral district
- civilianNon-military person
electorate · populace · masses · grassroots · body politic · commoner · layperson · demos
Lacking identity or features
- namelessWithout any designation
- unknownNot yet discovered
- anonymousOf unknown origin
- unidentifiedNot yet recognized
generic · placeholder · hypothetical · fictional · stand-in · proxy · substitute · undisclosed
Arithmetic mean or ordinary
- ordinaryStandard, unremarkable
- typicalRepresentative of a kind
- commonWidespread and unremarkable
- regularOccurring at fixed intervals
unremarkable · mundane · plain · garden-variety · run-of-the-mill · humdrum · workaday · mainstream
citizen
Legal national member
- voterBallot-casting citizen
- taxpayerOne who owes government duties
- constituentMember of electoral district
civilian · electorate · populace · masses · grassroots · body politic · commoner · layperson · demos · hoi polloi
faceless
Lacking identity or features
unidentified · generic · placeholder · hypothetical · fictional · stand-in · proxy · substitute · undisclosed · nondescript
average
Arithmetic mean or ordinary
regular · unremarkable · mundane · plain · garden-variety · run-of-the-mill · humdrum · workaday · mainstream · conventional
- Everymanaverage Joe, everyman, common man, regular Joe, regular guy
- placeholder namesJane Doe, Jane Roe, Doe, Joe Bloggs, Average Joe
- placeholdersplaceholder, bar, blank, dummy, filler
John Q. Publiccelebrity
Widely recognized public figure
household name · VIP · historical figure · public figure · notable
John Q. Publicthe elite
Most powerful group
VIP · the one percent · the powers that be · big shot · mover and shaker
John Q. Publicinsider
One with confidential access
government official · politician · bureaucrat · decision-maker · authority figure
John, public, publicly, publics, publication, publicize, publicized, publicizing, publicity