man in the street
Preserved but no longer current.
The ordinary citizen, the man or woman who, in the aggregate, makes public opinion. According to Charles Greville (1794- 1865) this was originally a racing term — " 'the man in the street,' as we call him at Newmarket." Diary, s.d. March 22nd, 1831.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “man in the street” mean?
The ordinary citizen, the man or woman who, in the aggregate, makes public opinion. According to Charles Greville (1794- 1865) this was originally a racing term — " 'the man in the street,' as we call him at Newmarket." Diary, s.d. March 22nd, 1831.
Is “man in the street” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.