John Citizen
- noun
- Australian
:
ciudadano promedio
- Politicians must remember the needs of the average John Citizen when making decisions.
Examples
-
The new tax policy will affect every John Citizen in the country.
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The government should listen to John Citizens like you and me.
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As a typical John Citizen, he found the regulations confusing.
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Every John Citizen deserves a fair chance.
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As a typical John Citizen, he found the regulations confusing.
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Politicians must remember the needs of the average John Citizen when making decisions.
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The new tax policy will affect every John Citizen in the country.
Synonyms
30
2.0
An ordinary man without a title, rank, or special rights
12
4.5
A name used for an unknown man in legal or official papers
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
1
6.3
A typical person who represents what most people think
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
5.2
A typical person with no special skills or fame
1
4.1
An ordinary member of the public
A name people use for an ordinary, typical man
Surface Forms
Morphology
John + citizen
The meaning is directly derivable from combining a common given name 'John' (used as a personal name/placeholder) with 'citizen' (a member of the state), so learners can infer it denotes an ordinary or average person. This placeholder-name + role pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g. 'John Doe', 'Monsieur Tout-le-monde'), making the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
John Citizen may come from the very common name John plus Citizen, meaning a member of the country, so together they make a simple label for an ordinary person. That's why John Citizen is used to mean 'an average person'.