great unwashed

The ordinary people

The great unwashed is a disparaging term for the common people or lower classes, implying they lack refinement or proper hygiene.

The phrase is usually ironic or humorous now, mocking elitist attitudes rather than endorsing them: The great unwashed aren't welcome at this exclusive resort.

Sometimes shortened to the unwashed.

populace

masses

Bulk or populace

multitudeVery large number
commonersOrdinary citizens, untitled
plebeiansRoman lower classes

proletariat · hoi polloi · rank and file · grassroots · common people · citizenry · public · folk · electorate · constituency

pejorative

rabble

Disorderly, noisy crowd

mobDisorderly, aggressive crowd
riffraffDisreputable or undesirable people
dregsResidue at bottom

scum · underclass · philistines · horde · lowborn · baseborn · peasantry · ignoble · have-nots · untouchables

Opposites

social class/status

great unwashedelite

Superior select group

aristocracy · upper class · nobility · ruling class · gentry

cultural refinement

great unwashedintelligentsia

Educated, intellectual class

literati · cognoscenti · glitterati · tastemakers · beau monde

political power

great unwashedruling elite

Dominant governing class

establishment · power elite · powers that be · movers and shakers · decision-makers

Family

great, greatly, greatest, greater, greatness, unwashed, grandeur, aggrandizes, great-grandmother

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG