Joe Blow

noun

variants or less commonly Joe Schmo

plural Joe Blows also Joe Schmos

: an average or ordinary man

"When you're an athlete and you do something bad, it's out of proportion," [Michael] Moorer said. "The average Joe Blow walking down the street gets in trouble, you never hear about it."

—Hal Bock

"We're just average Joe Schmos who enjoy hanging out together and talking about our cars and our memories," [Neil] Haspel says.

—Dennis McCarthy

Synonyms

• everyman
• Joe Six-Pack
• John Doe
• little guy
• little man
• lug
• slob

Examples of Joe Blow in a Sentence

the typical Joe Blow can't afford to stay at the new five-star hotel

Recent Examples on the Web

Under secret balloting, someone might say, hey, here is $5 to vote for Joe Blow, but the voter could take the money and go into the curtained voting booth and vote for Bill Smith. —Jay Ambrose, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above