Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A proletarian.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun informal A member of the
proletariat - noun informal A
pleb (ordinary person).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a member of the working class (not necessarily employed)
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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For in Reich's letter as in his book, the choices we face are simplified to "consumer deals" or "citizen values"; and his critics (me, on this occasion) are dismissed as "denigrators" of economic growth, enemies of capitalist globalization who pave the way for nativism: in short, prole-worshipping nostalgics.
'Supercapitalism': An Exchange Reich, Robert B. 2008
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Beer was the only drink you could get in prole pubs.
Nineteen Eighty-Four 1949
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Once all remaining dignity has been stripped clean away, said prole is suddenly given pounds 2,000 and commanded to buy a new wardrobe, with two provisos – 1) they must follow a set of fashion "rules" handed down by Trinny and Susannah, and 2) their shopping expedition takes place on camera.
Charlie Brooker's Screen burn: What Not To Wear Charlie Brooker 2010
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I'm seriously considering a ban on the use of "prole" on this blog unless the term is used in a discussion of Orwell's 1984.
You Say That as if it's a Bad Thing Lisa Hirsch 2008
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In Orwell's novel, the "prole" masses, which make up 85% of the population, do have access to porn.
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- Is such insight as to why Orwell was drawn to place hope for humanity within 'prole'?
CounterPunch 2009
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Anyway -- all the rest regarding the ostensible "prole" nature of solidly middle class Palin is basically bullshit.
ParaPundit 2008
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'prole', yet this priestly caste is obviously unable to agree on matters of interpretation, as seen by the number of schisms arising since the Church's foundation.
The Watcher: The New Zealand Voice of the Left Hand Path #7 1991
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Well, that doesn’t make them immune to the petit bourgeois angst of being seen as the wrong kind of prole wrong kind because, of course, not being of the hoi poloi is so declassé these days.
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I mean, you'd expect prole (PH) England to have words for different types of rain: drizzle, the har -- the fog, the mist that -- that drifts up the Lincolnshire coastline, etc., etc. So yes.
A Back-Story to The Man Who Loved China A Coincidence Most Curious and Telling 2010
super-topher commented on the word prole
Colloquial for proletariat?
January 15, 2009
seanahan commented on the word prole
Typically, yes. I can't think of any single syllable slang for bourgeois.
January 18, 2009
sionnach commented on the word prole
You could just refer to them as "the rich".
January 18, 2009
hernesheir commented on the word prole
Just don't call them the "comfortably numb" living in "blissful ignorance", and don't mention that "the unexamined life is not worth living"...or politics, or religion, or guns. I would suggest that anyone should read the wonderful and amusing book by Paul Fussel entitled Class: A Guide Through the American Status System. It will make you laugh and cringe, and as Wordies, write down a score or terms to add your lists and personal vocabularies.
January 18, 2009