common or garden variety
Run of mill
Common or garden variety describes something ordinary, unremarkable, or typical of its kind—nothing special or unusual.
The phrase comes from plant nursery catalogs distinguishing standard specimens from rare cultivars.
It usually carries a mildly dismissive tone: This isn't some exotic disease—it's your common or garden variety cold.
The shortened form *common or garden* is more British; Americans tend toward *garden variety* alone.
- bog standardUtterly ordinary, unmodified
- plain vanillaCompletely standard or ordinary
- nondescriptWithout distinguishing qualities
- ordinaryStandard, unremarkable
- plainBasic and unremarkable
simple · unremarkable · nothing to write home about · humdrum · banal · unexceptional · mundane · dime a dozen · two a penny · prosaic · stereotypical · pedestrian · middle of the road · archetypal · run-of-the-mill · same old same old · usual · cookie-cutter
common or garden varietyrare
Seldom found or seen
extraordinary · one-of-a-kind · exotic · unusual · uncommon
common or garden varietyexotic
Strikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
special · remarkable · outstanding · elite · premium
common or garden varietyexotic
Strikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
foreign · imported · outlandish · alien · otherworldly
common, commonly, commons, commonality, commonplace, uncommonly, garden, gardens, gardener