man in the street

man in the street Word Origin See more synonyms for man in the street on Thesaurus.com noun

1. the ordinary person; the average citizen: the political opinions of the man in the street.

Origin of man in the street First recorded in 1825–35 Related Words for man in the street Everyman British Dictionary definitions for man in the street man in the street noun

1. the typical or ordinary person, esp as a hypothetical unit in statistics

Idioms and Phrases with man in the street man in the street

Also, woman in the street. An ordinary, average person, as in It will be interesting to see how the man in the street will answer that question. This expression came into use in the early 1800s when the votes of ordinary citizens began to influence public affairs. Today it is used especially in the news media, where reporters seek out the views of bystanders at noteworthy events, and by pollsters who try to predict the outcome of elections.