Joe Blow

Posted by ESC on April 27, 2001

In Reply to: Joe Blow posted by Ken on April 26, 2001

: What's the origin of Joe Blow. Maybe American English slang, but worth a try.

".from the 1920s through the 1940s 'Joe' began to rival 'John' as the popular name for any typical guy. ('Joe Zilch' was a 1920s term, 'Joe College' and 'Joe Blow' are from the 1930s, and 'a good Joe,' 'an ordinary Joe,' and 'Joe Doakes' reached their peak popularity in the 1940s.)." From I Hear America Talking: An Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).