man on the Clapham omnibus

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man on the Clapham omnibus

Where it comes from

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

noun men on the Clapham omnibus

UK Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts in considering questions of reasonableness; an everyman. Near-synonyms: man on the Bondi tram, man on the Shau Kei Wan tram, reasonable person
Similar: man on the Bondi tram, man on the Shau Kei Wan tram, reasonable person
UK, broadly Any ordinary person; everyman.
Similar: man on the street

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MLA

"man on the Clapham omnibus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/man%20on%20the%20clapham%20omnibus. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

man on the Clapham omnibus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/man%20on%20the%20clapham%20omnibus

Chicago

"man on the Clapham omnibus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/man%20on%20the%20clapham%20omnibus.

BibTeX

@misc{man_on_the_clapham_omnibus_2026,
  title = {man on the Clapham omnibus},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/man%20on%20the%20clapham%20omnibus},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}