man in the street
Typical ordinary person
The man in the street is an ordinary person, the average citizen whose views supposedly represent common opinion rather than expert analysis: Pollsters wanted to know what the man in the street thought about the new policy.
The phrase often appears in journalism when gauging public sentiment.
Also *man on the street*, and increasingly *person in the street* to avoid the gendered default.
- commonerNon-noble person
- working classManual laborers collectively
- everymanOrdinary representative person
- vox populiVoice of the people
- crowdLarge public gathering
Jane Doe · average Joe · Joe Public · John Q. Public · layperson · citizen · wage earner · nine to five · plebeian · voter · taxpayer · hoi polloi · grassroots · proletariat · common people · townsfolk · populace · salt of the earth
man in the streetexpert
Highly skilled practitioner
specialist · authority · subject matter expert · professional · pundit
man in the streetelite
Superior select group
aristocrat · VIP · somebody · bigwig · mover and shaker
man in the streetcelebrity
Widely recognized public figure
public figure · household name · VIP · notable · luminary
street, humane, humanity, streets, manhood, womanhood, streetwise, streetlight, streetcar