rank and file

See also: rank-and-file

English

rank and file (uncountable)

Common soldiers, as would be arrayed in a grid pattern with ranks and files.
(idiomatic) Those lacking any particular title or status; those having no station.
The executives attend meetings in exotic locations while the rank and file stays at headquarters doing the bulk of the work.
- 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, "British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party," New York Times (retrieved 29 May 2013):
  First, a prominent Tory called the party’s rank and file “swivel-eyed loons.” Then the populist politician Nigel Farage called Prime Minister David Cameron and his Tory-led government “a bunch of college kids.”

common soldiers

those lacking title or status

Finnish: rivimiehet pl; miehistö (fi) (in a police department or similar hierarchic organisation); rivijäsenet pl (in an association)
Japanese: はしくれ (ja) (hashikure)

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.