The common, lower classes; the hoi polloi.
The great unwashed
What's the meaning of the phrase 'The great unwashed'?
What's the origin of the phrase 'The great unwashed'?
This rather disparaging term was coined by the Victorian novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He used it in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford:
“He is certainly a man who bathes and ‘lives cleanly’, (two especial charges preferred against him by Messrs. the Great Unwashed).”
See also, it was a dark and stormy night.
The history of “The great unwashed” in printed materials
Trend of the great unwashed in printed material over time
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