great unhosed

A form of great unwashed — The general populace, particularly the working class.

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Meanings

noungreat unhosed pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of great unwashed.

    He fills the trough at which the great unhosed tuck in and pig out

    2014, Allan Brown, 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland, Hachette UK, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    And it's not just the great unhosed. These raiders all earn over two hundred thousand pounds a year in big banks.

    1997 February 26, Chris Morris, “Crime”, in Brass Eye

    Really, I can't understand why anyone would want to work in a restaurant, pandering to the random whims of the great unhosed.

    2011, Carlos Alba, Kane's Ladder, Birlinn, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
canaillecommonaltygreat unwashedhoi polloimanyodds and sodsplebsrabbleriffraffunwashed masses

Origin

Coined by Chris Morris in the 1997 Brass Eye episode "Crime" in a satirical parody of crime reporting, with the apparent implication that the people referred to should be cleaned with a hose like farm animals.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

great unhosed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/great%20unhosed

MLA

“great unhosed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/great%20unhosed. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “great unhosed,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/great%20unhosed.

Source: great unhosed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.