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The meaning and origin of the expression: Fellow traveller

Fellow traveller

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Fellow traveller'?

Someone sympathetic toward a certain point of view without being a fully paid-up member of the club.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Fellow traveller'?

In its literal meaning 'fellow traveller' just means someone who travels with you. It was first applied to non-communists who were inclined toward the views of the Communist Party by Leon Trotsky. He used the Russian word popútchik to indicate that. The term 'fellow traveller' in this sense came rather later, in the New York publication Nation, 1936:

"The new phenomenon is the fellow-traveler. The term has a Russian background and means someone who does not accept all your aims but has enough in common with you to accompany you in a comradely fashion part of the way. In this campaign both Mr. Landon and Mr. Roosevelt have acquired fellow-travelers."

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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