joe

plural joes · alternative Joe

1. informalA male; a guy; a fellow.

   I'm just an ordinary joe.

2. UKslangA spy, especially a double agent.

   Then Hapgood turned him into a joe — that is, he works for the British.

   2009, John Fleming, Stoppard's Theatre: Finding Order amid Chaos, page 178

   3 more examples

   Name me a joe in a bad country ... who doesn't fall for a pretty face if she's on his side against the world.

   2001, Tod Hoffman, Le Carré's Landscape, page 193

   Soviet troops were permitted to enter the American sector, where they could easily capture and torture an agent to confirm the existence of a Joe house, then cripple American espionage efforts by kidnapping a nest of spies in one fell swoop.

   2004, Richard W. Cutler, Counterspy, page 96

   Lamb didn't look any different, was still a soft fat rude bastard, still dressed like he'd been thrown through a charity shop window, but Jesus, River thought—Lamb was a joe.

   2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 215

3. historicalSynonym of johannes (“An old Portuguese gold coin bearing a figure of John V of Portugal.”).

   In the olden time the currency, you know, was a l^([sic]) in gold and silver, joes, half-joes (Johannes), pistoles, moidores, doubloons, pistareens, ninepences (12+¹⁄₂ cents), and fourpence-half-pennies (6+¹⁄₄ cents) or “fippenny-bits.”

   1863 August, The Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries Concerning the Antiquities, History and Biography of America, volume VII, number 8, New York: Charles B. Richardson, […]. London: Trübner & Co., page 245, column 2

   2 more examples

   I have seen doubloons before now in my voyagings; your doubloons of old Spain, your doubloons of Peru, your doubloons of Chili, your doubloons of Bolivia, your doubloons of Popayan; with plenty of gold moidores and pistoles, and joes, and half joes, and quarter joes.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter XCIX. The Doubloon”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 481

   Guineas, joes, half joes, doubloons, and pistoles of various origin constituted the gold currency, while the silver was mostly the Spanish American dollar and its fractions: the half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth, with the pistareen and half pistareen.

   1861, “United States Mint”, “Chapter I. Establishment of Mint—Standard of Coins—Laws Regulating Coinage—Progress of Coinage—Precious Metals in the Country”, in Eighty Years’ Progress of the United States: […], volume I, New York: […]. Worcester, Mass.: L. Stebbins, page 213, column 1

   Synonyms: johannes

plural joes

1. UScountableinformaluncountableCoffee.

   In olden times, you'd wander down to Mom's Cafe for a bite to eat and a cup of joe, and you would feel right at home.

   1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 178

   2 more examples

   45 have some joe Week's almost over—now bring it home. Austrian researchers found that a cup of java resulted in a 45-minute boost of brain activity in the regions responsible for attention, concentration, and short-term memory.

   2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135

   Some people say I make the best joe in town. But you know there's a kiosk over on Eighteenth Avenue, not that far from here.

   2010, Melody Carlson, A Mile in My Flip-Flops, page 221

plural joes

1. ScotlandalternativeAlternative form of jo (“a darling or sweetheart”).

   1836 Joanna Baillie The Phantom, Act 2. Provost, to a maidservant. I fear, my joe, the good that I can do him, Or ev'n the minister, if he were here, Would be but little.

   1 more example

   My tantie Kate sits at her wheel, / And sair she lightlies me; / But weel ken I it's a' envy, / For ne'er a joe has she.

   1890, Scottish Humorous Poetry, page 6

1. A diminutive of the male given names Joseph, Josiah, Joel, and Josias.

   "With a name like Joe," Joe always said, "I had to open a bar and grill, just so I could put up a sign saying 'Joe's Bar and Grill'."

   1981 Orson Scott Card, Second Movement, Nebula Winners: Science Fiction Writers of America, Harper&Row, 1981, page 207

   1 more example

   With Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ decision to end his campaign on Wednesday, it’s now official: Former Vice President Joe Biden will be the Democratic presidential nominee this fall.

   2020 April 8, Chris Cillizza, “Why Joe Biden starts as the general election front-runner”, in CNN

2. alternativerareAlternative form of Jo: a diminutive of various female given names.
3. A surname.

plural Joes · alternative joe

1. informalA male; a guy; a fellow.

   I'm just an ordinary Joe.

2. archaicslangSynonym of Joe Miller (“an old joke”).

   O what "a Joe," — what an "old Joe!" — / A very "old Joe!" — / Old Joe Miller made the joke before, / But nothing tells better that ^([sic]) a good old Joe!

   1848, James Robinson Planché, The Golden Branch, page 22

   Synonyms: Joe Miller