zilch
John Doe
A man whose identity is unknown or being protected, as in legal proceedings. The victim is a John Doe—the paramedics didn't find any identification on him. The case was brought by a John Doe, so we don't know the true identity of the man suing us.
See also: doe, john
zilch
1. slang Nothing. We spent all weekend working on it and now we have zilch to show for it. You know what I got in return? Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
2. slang Someone insignificant; a nobody. I feel like such a zilch after missing out on that job.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
John Doe
1. Also, John Q. Public; Joe Blow; Joe Doakes; Joe Zilch. An average undistinguished man; also, the average citizen. For example, This television show is just right for a John Doe, or It's up to John Q. Public to go to the polls and vote. Originally used from the 13th century on legal documents as an alias to protect a witness, John Doe acquired the sense of "ordinary person" in the 1800s. The variants date from the 1900s. Also see Joe six-pack.
2. Also, Jane Doe. An unknown individual, as in The police found a John Doe lying on the street last night, or The judge issued a warrant for the arrest of the perpetrators, Jane Doe no. 1 and Jane Doe no. 2 . [Second half of 1900s]
See also: doe, john
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
John Doe
and Jane Doe (ˈdʒɑn ˈdo) n. a name used for a person whose real name is unknown. The tag on the corpse said Jane Doe, since no one had identified her. John Doe was the name at the bottom of the check.
See also: doe, john
zilch
(zɪltʃ) n. nothing. And what do I get? Zilch, that’s what!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
John Doe
The average person. This appellation actually dates from the thirteenth century, when it was used in legal documents to disguise the identity of witnesses; the tenant plaintiff was called John Doe and the landlord defendant Richard Roe. In the nineteenth century the name acquired the present meaning of ordinary person. A book, The O’Hara Family (1825), included “Tales, Containing . . . John Doe,” and almost a century later a movie starring Gary Cooper was entitled Meet John Doe (1941). Similar appellations include Joe Blow, first recorded in 1867; Joe Doakes, from the 1920s; and John Q. Public, coined by the writer William Allen White in 1937. John Doe has outlived them all.
See also: doe, john
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- John Doe
- doe
- Jane Doe
- Fred Nerk
- Richard Roe
- VSA
- reasonable
- beyond a reasonable doubt
- get proofed
- sue (someone or something) out of (something)