Joe Public
1
6.3
- noun
- Literature
:
ciudadano promedio
- Joe Public often feels overlooked by politicians during election campaigns.
And Joe public whereby they think they're so smart, they think that they, you know, that they're in control, they're in charge.
- And Joe public whereby they think they're so smart, they think that they, you know, that they're in control, they're in charge.
Examples
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No need to worry about journalists and bloggers going on about ethics on trips, etc. Maybe officials at the tourism board have simply realized that handing out a load of free travel to Joe Public (who, arguably, are perhaps less worried about whether their reputation is tarnished by tweeting constantly about their amazing experience under a common hashtag) is the better way to get some buzz about a destination.
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As Joe Public, thank you all for airing your thoughts.
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Unless Joe Public has an interest in you, the press will not.
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This guy should be treated the same as Joe Public.
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WW was more accessible to Joe Public.
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I believe if the industry had taken the time to try to put themselves in Joe Public's shoes, then this angst would not be coming as a shock and would not need an explanation.
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They push everything as "natural" and it's assumed (by Joe Public) that anything with the "organic" label (and earth-toned packaging) is healthy.
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The glimmer of light is that the media seem to be getting their teeth into ClimateGate, and for totally self-interested reasons, may now champion Joe Public in order to win back lost credibility and increase sales.
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Beyond that, there is no difference between Bieber and Joe Public—we can and are photographed and recorded on video constantly, if not by paparazzi, then by the government.
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The survey results reflect the opinions of Joe Public on important social issues.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
People in general, not a small private group
10
2.5
A regular man who stands for the average person
10
2.7
An ordinary person who is not an expert
5
3.4
A regular person who shows the views of most people
2
4.8
A person who is like most everyday people
1
1.4
A person who has no title and is an ordinary member of society
1
6.1
An ordinary person who represents the public
1
4.1
An ordinary member of the public
1
5.2
A typical person with no special skills or fame
A name for an ordinary man like a neighbour or friend
An average person used as a name to represent most people in Australia
A name people use for an ordinary, typical man
Antonyms
- Specialized
27
4.8
A child whose thinking or physical ability is much different from most children
How Typical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an average member of the public' is directly derivable from combining 'Joe' (used as a generic/average man) with 'public' (ordinary people); together they denote a typical member of the public. This name+group composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., 'Average Joe', 'Juan Pérez') and follows a transparent compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will grasp the MWE.
Etymology
Joe Public comes from the very common name Joe plus the word Public, which means ordinary people. One popular story says writers used Joe as a simple everyday man to stand for the crowd, so Joe Public now means 'an average person'.