“Joe Six-Pack”
Does it mean your average Joe, carrying a six-pack of beer?
Or, does it mean your hyper-muscled Joe Gym, with a washboard abdomen?
Help me. Everyone’s saying it, and it’s shorthand that obviously refers to something about America and the election, but I don’t know what.
And whether it’s the beer guy, or the gym guy, or even some other guy, what does that even mean?
leaf stitch word 
I’m going to sound like I’m mimicking the worst possible introduction to a college-level essay, but according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary…
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joe%20six-pack
It says the slang has been around since 1975, but the OED etymology offers an example from 1972 that specifically refers to use by politicians.
Wow. I had no idea. Poor Joe Six-Pack. Talk about reducing a working(wo)man to a completely unflattering stereotype. I can picture the easy chair, the gut, the beer, the glow from the tv. It’s just an iota less insulting than “redneck.”
Most people I know who make a living with their hands (roofers, carpenters, plumbers, cleaners) have a lot more going on than just beer.
Is “working people” too hard to say?
Hmm.
Thanks, James. I didn’t even think to look in the dictionary. Trying to find a definition, I was doing that other college-student research thing: Googling.
Please also discuss what “Real America” is….what a dolt.
Oh and…”washboard abdomen” sounds like a diagnosis. It is “WASHBOARD ABS!”
Who’s saying ‘Real America’? Doltish, indeed.
That reminds me of that old phrase, “professional woman,” for some reason. Yes, I am extremely skilled at being a woman.
Washboard abdomen. Funny error on my part. I didn’t even know it mattered. Good think I’ve never met anyone who has one, so I didn’t goof up and say, “Nice washboard abdomen.”
McCain and Palin–in the smaller towns they have been calling them the “Real Americans” – Jon Stewart has been doing a number on them
Here’s the other phrase I don’t like: hockey moms. First off, I was never a fan of the phrase “soccer moms” either; I’m not sure I can explain why, other than that I didn’t like how the moms (never the dads?) were carting the kids around, and how it seemed like their whole identity was defined by taking the kids to soccer. Maybe “hockey moms” came along earlier than this, but I associate them with Palin, and my assumption has been that she changed it both to make it her own and to remind us she’s from Alaska. However, the reason I dislike it even more than soccer moms is because it’s a less gender-neutral sport. Yes, I know girls play hockey, but I think there are more boys who play than girls, and soccer is the only sport I can think of where boys and girls play on the same team. Even I, the most athletically-challenged kid in the universe (couldn’t even do a cartwheel), played on a co-ed soccer team. My teammates hated me, but I did it. Maybe they don’t do co-ed soccer anymore, but when I hear “hockey moms,” I just think of women dragging boys around. And this is what I’m doing with my PhD these days, apparently.