- hoi polloi, the
- hoi pol|loi, the [ ,hɔı pə`lɔı ] noun pluralan insulting word for ordinary people who are not very rich or well educated
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.
hoi polloi, the
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Hoi polloi — (Greek: ), an expression meaning the many (literally: the citizens ) in Greek is used 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… … Wikipedia
hoi polloi — The normal construction is the hoi polloi, meaning ‘the masses, the common people’. The fact that hoi in the original Greek expression (literally ‘the many’) already means ‘the’ is therefore ignored; objection to this now seems pedantic, is… … Modern English usage
hoi polloi — Synonyms and related words: cog, commonality, commonalty, creature, demos, flunky, follower, ignobile vulgus, inferior, junior, lightweight, lower class, lower orders, many headed multitude, masses, mobile vulgus, pawn, second fiddle, secondary,… … Moby Thesaurus
hoi polloi — 1837, from Gk. hoi polloi (pl.) the people, lit. the many (pl. of polys; see POLY (Cf. poly )). Used in Greek by Dryden (1668) and Byron (1822), in both cases preceded by the, even though Gk. hoi means the, a mistake repeated often by subsequent… … Etymology dictionary
hoi polloi — [hoi′pə loi′] n. [Gr, lit., the many] the common people; the masses: usually patronizing or contemptuous: sometimes preceded by the … English World dictionary
hoi polloi — [n] the masses commonality, commoners, common people, rank and file, the herd, the multitude, the proletariat, the working class; concepts 379,417 … New thesaurus
hoi polloi — The many, the masses; people who have a high opinion of themselves (Greek). ► “Always an iconoclast, Mr. [Oliver] Stone has begun to rent his western getaway to the hoi polloi.” (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 1996, p. A1) … American business jargon
hoi polloi — ► PLURAL NOUN derogatory ▪ the common people. ORIGIN Greek, the many … English terms dictionary
(the) hoi polloi — the hoi polloi UK [ˌhɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ] US noun [plural] an insulting word for ordinary people who are not rich or well educated Thesaurus: ordinary people or personsynonym … Useful english dictionary
Hoi Polloi (1935 film) — Infobox Film name = Hoi Polloi caption = director = Del Lord writer = Felix Adler Helen Howard (uncredited) starring = Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Harry Holman Robert Graves Phyllis Crane Geneva Mitchell William Irving Bud Jamison James C … Wikipedia
