Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Danish term or phrase:
på gulvet
English translation:
the lowest person on the totem pole; the man in the street; the blue collars
Added to glossary by
Charlesp
Apr 25, 2017 13:46
7 yrs ago
Danish term
på gulvet
Danish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
as in "manden på gulvet" or "på folket på gulvet"
Like on the bottom rung... (perhaps)
Like on the bottom rung... (perhaps)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | the man in the street |
Thomas T. Frost
|
| 3 | the average Joe |
Hanne Rask Sonderborg
|
| 3 | the blue collars |
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
|
Proposed translations
18 mins
Thomas T. Frost
Portugal
Portugal
Native in Danish
&
English
Portugal
‘Very good precision work’ – Comunica.dk
Native in: Danish (Variant: Standard (rigsdansk)) 
, English (Variants: British, UK)
Works in: Danish to English, English to Danish, French to Danish
Related KudoZ points
:
2
Danish term (edited):
manden på gulvet
Selected
the man in the street
"The ordinary/average person" is what it means. You'll find many such idioms on ordnet.dk.
Note from asker:
| Thanks Thomas! |
2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Literally, de nederste lag i hierarkiet i samfundet eller på en arbejdsplads.
The lowest level in the hierarchy in society or in a workplace."
21 mins
Hanne Rask Sonderborg
Denmark
Denmark
Native in Danish
Denmark
Professional Full-Time Translator
Native in: Danish 
Works in: English to Danish
the average Joe
Meaning the ordinary man. It's an idiom, not to be taken literal
Note from asker:
| Thanks Hanne! |
7 hrs
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Denmark
Denmark
Native in Danish
Denmark
English or Danish - Authentic language!
Native in: Danish
Works in: English to Danish, Danish to English
the blue collars
Just another suggestion. Like referring to the ordinary workers. It depends on the greater context.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Thomas T. Frost
: "Manden på gulvet" in itself doesn't refer to a specific part of the workforce. You'd need a specific context to limit it to this meaning.
13 mins
|
Discussion
Yes, more context might have been helpful, but I intentionally didn't provide any, as I wanted to get a range of possibilities, in different circumstances.