hoi polloi

     

Hoi polloi (Greek: οἱ πολλοί), an expression meaning "the many" in Greek is use in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. For example, "I've secured a private box for the play so we don't have to watch the show with hoi polloi." Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include "...commoners, great unwashed, minions, multitude, plebeians, proletariat, rabble, rank and file, riffraff, the common people, the herd, the many, the masses, the peons, the working class".

Trivia about hoi polloi

  • In Greek this 2-word phrase means "the many"; it refers to the common people
  • Greek for "the many", it means the common people or the masses
  • You don't need to put "the" before this Greek phrase for "the masses" because hoi means "the"
  • Often misused, this Greek term means the common people, or the masses

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