man on the Clapham omnibus
(UK, law) Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts in considering questions of reasonableness; an everyman.
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Born ~1903 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
(UK, law) Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts in considering questions of reasonableness; an everyman.
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(UK, by extension) Any ordinary person; everyman.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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An American expression for the average, ordinary, unremarkable member of the public — the archetypal everyman who goes about daily life without fame, power, or particular distinction. Johnny Citizen is used in discussions about policy, media, or public life to personify how laws and decisions affect regular people rather than elites or institutions. The term is somewhat dated and carries a mid-century American flavour, but it still appears in commentary that wants to humanise broad social forces by putting a name to the crowd.