Uncommon
Hoi polloi
Expression from Greek that means "the many"
Hoi polloi
The English expression "(the) hoi polloi" () was borrowed from Ancient Greek (οἱ πολλοί), where it means "the many" or, in the strictest sense, "the people". In English, it has been given a negative connotation to signify the common people. Synonyms for hoi polloi include "the plebs" (plebeians), "the rabble", "the masses", "the great unwashed", "the riffraff", and "the proles" (proletarians). There is also widespread spoken use of the term in the opposite sense to refer denigratingly to elites that is common among middle-class and lower-income people in several English-speaking countries and regions, including at least Australia, North America, and Scotland since at least the 1950s. However, this use is often considered incorrect. The phrase probably became known to English scholars through "Pericles' Funeral Oration", as mentioned in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Pericles uses it in a positive way when praising the Athenian democracy, contrasting it with hoi oligoi, "the...
Open boosters, collect cards and trade them. Free to play.
Play for free