John Q. Public (and several similar names; see the Variations section below) is a generic name in the United States to denote a hypothetical member of society deemed a "common man." He is presumed to represent the randomly selected "man on the street."
Variations
Similar terms include John Q. Citizen and John Q. Taxpayer, or Jane Q. Public, Jane Q. Citizen, and Jane Q. Taxpayer for a woman. The name John Doe is used in a similar manner. The term Tom, Dick and Harry is often used to denote multiple hypothetical persons.
Roughly equivalent are the names Joe Blow, Joe Six-pack, the nowadays less popular Joe Doakes and Joe Shmoe, the last of which implies a lower-class citizen (from the Yiddishschmo: simpleton, or possibly Hebrewsh'mo: (what's)-his-name).
Usage
In the United States, the term John Q. Public is used by law enforcement officers to refer to an individual with no criminal bent, as opposed to terms like perp (short for perpetrator) or skell to qualify unsavory individuals.
John Q. is a 2002 American crime film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington), a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and finds out he is unable to receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it, before he decides to hold up the hospital and force them to do it.
Television everywhere, Radio waves pollute the air, People people sit and watch, Vegetating on the couch, The garbage pouring from the screen, Just awaiting to be seen, By the glassy eyed who sit and sit, Hypnotized by all of it. Tv tv you're addicted, Tv tv your mind's afflicted, Your brain is burned with gamma rays, You see everything through a haze. Commercials, televangelists, Politicians talking piss, MTV video music trash, Superstars with clothes that flash. Tv sitcoms with no plot, Soap opera fans get caught up, In the web of love and romance, Throwing them off of social balance. Tv tv you're addicted, Tv tv your mind's afflicted, Your brain is burned with gamma rays, You see everything through a haze. -Hey, how about that Don Johnson...pause (no response from crowd) -What... nobody likes Don Johnson? Television everywhere, Radio waves pollute the air, People people sit and watch, Vegetating on the couch, The garbage pouring from the screen, Just awaiting to be seen, By the glassy eyed who sit and sit, Hypnotized by all of it. Tv tv you're addicted, Tv tv your mind's afflicted, Your brain is burned with gamma rays, You see everything through a haze. Fantasy Island, Soap, Magnum PI, Heart to Heart, and Fall Guy, A-Team, Loveboat, Three's a Crowd, Quincy, Columbo, and McCloud. Tv sitcoms with no plot, Soap opera fans get caught up, In the web of love and romance, Throwing them off of social balance.
WASHINGTON — Chief JusticeJohnRoberts issued a defense Tuesday of judicial independence, which he said is under threat from intimidation, disinformation and the prospect of public officials defying court orders.
In his annual year-end report, Supreme Court Chief JusticeJohnRoberts expressed disdain for public officials who have tried to coerce and intimidate judges over the last year ... “Public officials ...
Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure's most recent road safety campaign asks the public to "roadwise up". Infrastructure MinisterJohn O'Dowd offered sympathies to all who have lost loved ...
In vain did the iconoclastic economist JohnMaynard Keynes argue that the government could offset the collapse of private demand by public borrowing and investment ... Taxes went up, but so did debt because public spending went even higher.
KFFHealthNews, partnering with researchers at the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof, a national nonprofit focused on addiction, undertook a yearlong investigation to find out.
52 — public intimidation and retaliation; drug possession; possession of marijuana, first offense (14 grams or less); terrorizing; battery of emergency room personnel, emergency services personnel or a health care professional with injury.
The money will go toward installation of electrical and climate control systems as the organization prepares to open the house to the public in 2026, the centennial of JohnColtrane’s birth.
PhysicistJohnWheeler was involved in much of this Earth-shattering work, such as understanding the structure of the atom, working on the atomic bomb, and researching the nature of some of the largest objects in the universe.
A statistical paper questioning the guilt of Lucy Letby has been refused publication by a science journal over fears that it might upset the parents of her victims ... Prof John O’Quigley, from the ...
John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at the UC BerkeleySchool of PublicHealth...County public health officials monitor local wastewater and test for concentrations of the viruses in four local sewersheds.
Make a resolution to get the facts when politicians start making promises they claim will help John and Jane Q. Public... Will a proposed change be in the best public interest or does it financially ...
Colorado Springs Gazette
01 Jan 2025
Colorado Springs Gazette
01 Jan 2025