men of the people

Noun

man of the people (plural men of the people)

1. (idiomatic) A man, usually a celebrity or political leader, who shows understanding of and sympathy for the concerns of ordinary people, and who has a rapport with and acceptance by them.
   • He could hang about a bar-room, discussing the affairs of the nation, for twelve hours together; and in that time could hold forth with more intolerable dulness, chew more tobacco, smoke more tobacco, drink more rum-toddy, mint-julep, gin-sling, and cocktail, than any private gentleman of his...1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter XVI, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC, pages 202–203