the little guy

noun

chiefly US, informal
: an ordinary person who is not wealthy, famous, or powerful
used to refer to such people in general
a politician who portrays himself as a friend of the little guy

Examples of the little guy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Racial demagoguery in the U.S. was once largely limited to Southern politicians who sometimes used their folksy, homespun charms as champions of the little guy to stoke racial and economic grievances. David Cason, The Conversation, 16 May 2024 And a deep feeling for outsiders, the little guy, is what enabled those early moguls to quickly generate an entire storytelling industry from scratch. Michael Cieply, Deadline, 16 June 2024 Dumb Money, the movie that just came out about meme stocks, tried to portray GameStop as a political movement similar to Occupy Wall Street, where people were fighting the short-sellers and hedge funds—the little guy versus the big guy. Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 10 June 2024 Drescher last year emerged as an unlikely labor leader and champion of the little guy. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2024 Unfortunately, he was then surrendered to a shelter, which asked the Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary to step in and help find the little guy a loving home. Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024 In the video, the dad of three asked the little guy what his favorite smell is, as the 10-year-old hopped on a blue bike and hit the gas pedal. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024 Katie Porter has fought to defend the well-being of the little guy against rapacious banks and drug companies. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024 In 2022, that shrank to $7.7 billion, according to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (formed after the Great Recession to protect the little guy — which some folks love to hate). Teri Sforza, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the little guy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“The little guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20little%20guy. Accessed 14 Jul. 2024.

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