hoi polloi
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɔɪ pəˌlɔɪ/
rhymes: -ɔɪ
Forms: form: polloi
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”).
Senses: examples: text: The clientele is a select species of hoi polloi, intermixed with writers, painters and politicos and the more sophisticated American tourists.
ref: 1942 April 5, Elizabeth Fagg, “Cafeteria in Mexico”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: But what, pray tell, is a “librarian”? Consult the same infallible source and you will learn: “One who has the care or charge of a library.” And where does that leave the most of us, hoi great unwashed polloi who have neither the “care” nor the “charge” of a library?
ref: 1953 January, District of Columbia Library Association in Washington, D.C. Libraries, volume 24, number 1, page 1
text: Holding the meeting in Egypt is a Machiavellian way to look international but in reality to prevent hoi Interent polloi from attending the meeting.
ref: 2000 March 6, Arthur T. Murray, “Proletarians of the World Wide Web, unite against ICANN!”, in sci.econ (Usenet), message-ID <38c3d0ce@news.victoria.tc.ca>:
text: Naturally, the anthropological society did not wish to share its business with hoi polloi, so Herr Hagenbeck kindly offered them a private viewing.
ref: 2010, Guy Deutscher, Through the Language Glass, Arrow, published 2011, page 59:
text: The extension caused fury in Hampstead, where southbound trains began to arrive fully loaded with the hoi polloi of rapidly growing Edgware, Burnt Oak, Colindale, Hendon, Brent and Golders Green.
ref: 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 178:
text: Given the behaviour of the members, who do normally come to Lord’s, this seemed a bizarre attempt to offload the unpleasantness on hoi polloi taking advantage of some rare £25 tickets.
ref: 2023 July 4, Marina Hyde, “Who’s for political Bazball with Rishi? Voters? Tories? Anyone?”, in The Guardian:
text: Now, we have in Rishi Sunak a prime minister who is happier letting helicopters take the strain for even the shortest journeys (he popped down to Portsmouth in one recently), rather than risking mixing with hoi polloi on a train.
ref: 2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 43:
text: But though his left-leaning values have long been at odds with traditionally conservative family farmers and the country music hoi polloi, Nelson's ongoing commitment to inclusion and civility is even more imperative in today's highly polarized and divisive climate.
ref: 2025 May 1, Santi Elijah Holley, “Willie Nelson is still chasing an idealized country in a divided America”, in NPR:
synonyms: word: canaille
word: commonality
word: commonalty
word: crowd
word: demos
word: everyone
word: general public
word: great unhosed
word: great unwashed
word: herd
word: hoi polloi
word: lower class
word: many
word: masses
word: mob
word: multitude
word: odds and sods
word: peasantry
word: plebs
word: populace
word: proletariat
word: rabble
word: rank and file
word: riffraff
word: third estate
word: trash
word: unwashed
word: unwashed masses
word: working class
antonyms: elite
glosses: The common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
examples: text: Our moral standards sway Like Mrs. Tanqueray, And we are theoretically Most aesthetically Eager to display The fact that we're aggressively And excessively Anxious to destroy All the snobbery And hob-nobbery Of the hoi-polloi.
ref: 1934, Noël Coward, Play Parade, page 334:
text: "Maybe eating lunch on Nob Hill with your friends the hoi polloi." She didn't mean hoi polloi; but if you roll that phrase around your tongue long enough it can acquire a deceptive taste of affluence. "I don't have any hoi polloi friends"[.]
ref: 1985, Herbert Gold, Stories of Misbegotten Love: Stories, page 135:
text: "You gotta have references from the hoi polloi or else the MacDonalds won't give you the time of day. You don't happen to know the Queen, do you?"
ref: 1992, Charles Mathes, The Girl with the Phony Name:
text: "Always the fashion plate, aren't you, Peter", the mayor said as he shook Wohl's hand. “Even when you were a little boy.” “I've been out hobnobbing with the hoi polloi, Mr. Mayor.” / “Which hoi polloi would that be?” the mayor asked, chuckling. / “Captain Pekach's fiancée.
ref: 1993, W.E.B. Griffin, The Assassin:
text: "I'm very insulted," she stated, picking at her nail polish. / "Why?" / "Am I, Alice Golden, former star of Las Vegas — Lennie inherited everything he knows from me — not good enough to sit at the dinner table with the likes of the hoi polloi?"
ref: 1998, Jackie Collins, Lucky, page 352:
text: He sees me as some shiny piece of rough trade in from the boroughs to hobnob with Manhattan's hoi polloi, a chance find that adds a dash of edgy color to his safe, easy life[.]
ref: 2010, Adam Dunn, Rivers of Gold: A Novel, page 15:
text: It had chandeliers and potted plants, elephantine tables and plush velvet chairs, and it was filled with the hoi polloi I had met on Magazine Street—men in high hats and women in the finest bonnets and bustles.
ref: 2011, Jerome Charyn, The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel, page 216:
qualifier: see Usage notes
glosses: The elite.