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The vast unwashed

Posted by Bob on June 24, 2006

In Reply to: The vast unwashed posted by mary cheriton on June 24, 2006

: I'm wondering about the oft used phrase "the vast unwashed". Where did it originate and where was it first used?

It is much more commonly (so to speak) rendered as "the great unwashed." Google hits 435 vs. 331,000. Don't know an origin.

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