Joe Bloggs
1
4.6
- noun
- /dʒoʊ blɒɡz/
- UK
- The instructions were written so that even Joe Bloggs could understand them.
Examples
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They wanted to know what the average Joe Bloggs thought about the new policy.
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Everyone knows a Joe Bloggs who complains about the weather.
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In the competition, Joe Bloggs stood no chance against the professionals.
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In the survey, they asked typical Joe Bloggs about his spending habits.
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The instructions were written so that even Joe Bloggs could understand them.
-
They wanted to know what the average Joe Bloggs thought about the new policy.
-
Everyone knows a Joe Bloggs who complains about the weather.
Synonyms
37
2.5
A regular man who stands for the average person
20
1.8
A regular man with no special skills or fame
12
2.7
An ordinary person who is not an expert
4
4.8
A person who is like most everyday people
3
3.4
A regular person who shows the views of most people
2
6.3
A typical person who represents what most people think
1
4.1
An ordinary member of the public
1
5.2
A typical person with no special skills or fame
1
7.9
A name people use for an ordinary, typical man
1
6.3
An average person used as a name to represent most people in Australia
Antonyms
- Specialized
4
4.8
A child whose thinking or physical ability is much different from most children
How Typical
Surface Forms
Morphology
Joe + Bloggs
This is a conventionalized proper-name idiom: the surname 'Bloggs' has no independent lexical meaning and the sense 'average/typical person' is established by usage rather than composition. A B1 learner who knows 'Joe' as a name and 'Bloggs' as a surname would not be able to derive the idiomatic meaning from the parts, so prior exposure is required.
Etymology
Joe Bloggs is a British made-up name used to mean an 'average person'. Imagine a simple man called Joe with the plain surname Bloggs, and that ordinary picture is why the name stands for the 'average person'.