man on the Clapham omnibus

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English

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Etymology

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First put to legal use in a reported judgement by Sir Richard Henn Collins MR in the 1903 English Court of Appeal libel case, McQuire v. Western Morning News, who attributed it to Lord Bowen.

Noun

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man on the Clapham omnibus (plural (rare) men on the Clapham omnibus)

  1. (UK, law) Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts in considering questions of reasonableness; an everyman.
  2. (UK, by extension) Any ordinary person; everyman.
    Synonym: man on the street

See also

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