Skip to main content

Difference between “Brown, Jones, and Robinson” and “Tom, Dick, and Harry”

admin Confusing Phrases

Brown, Jones, and Robinson—(dated) used as a generic name for middle-class Englishmen:

  • A verbatim report of the conversation of Brown, Jones, and Robinson would be uninteresting.

Tom, Dick, and Harry—anybody at all; the average person:

  • Thoreau’s great fault was disdain for men (for Tom, Dick, and Harry): inability to appreciate the average life—even the exceptional life.