1. Due diligence meets Hoi Polloi
O What is Due diligence?
O What is Hoi Polloi?
O How are Due diligence and Hoi Polloi are
connected?
Simren Smith
English 1199.503
4. O
As for “due diligence,” first recorded
in 1598, “due” means appropriate,
sufficient, or proper. This sense of
the adjective has been in use since
around 1400.
The word “diligence” here carries
more of an active than a passive
sense. It means care and attention,
industry, endeavor, and effort to
accomplish what is undertaken.
So “due diligence” means something
like “the necessary care” or “the
effort required.” And one can
“exercise” or “perform” or “do” it.
5. Due diligence: Common Errors of Usage
O Many individuals like to spell due diligence
as do diligence. It is important not to make
this mistake because it completely changes
the meaning of the word.
O Due is also the correct spelling when one’s
bill is due, “when ‘giving someone his or her
due’ or ‘giving credit where credit is due.’”
6. Due diligence used in a
Sentence
If you exercise
your due
diligence by
turning in the
money you
found, it could
legally be yours
after sixty days if
no one claims it.
7. Understanding Due diligence
in Detail
O https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5VilC54rc4&lis
t=WLAveafO2Rp8FlY93PcjVbNjCNnkyLF5Hb
8. Due diligence vs. Hoi Polloi
Companies need to give
credit (due diligence) to the
common people (hoi polloi).
When due diligence is
deserved instead of being
only in favor of the rich.
9. Hoi Polloi [hoi puh-loi]
Hoi Polloi is a Greek
word referring to the
common people. In
our society Hoi Polloi
would refer to the
middle class. One
could also say that Hoi
Polloi means the
general population.
10. Hoi Polloi used in a sentence
O “The cost of the
tickets for the
concert was
ridiculously high in
an attempt to keep
out the hoi polloi”
(Manser).
11. Hoi Polloi: Common Errors of Usage
O Hoi Polloi is Greek for the
common people, but many
misuse the word, thinking
that Hoi Polloi is used to
describe the wealthy.
O This word is often misused
because many English
speakers are reminded of
adjectives “high” and/or
“hoity-toity” when they see
“Hoi.”
12. Hoi Polloi: Tips and Rules for Correcting Common
Errors
“Some urge that since ‘hoi’ is the
article, ‘the hoi polloi’ is
redundant; but the general rule is
that articles such as ‘the’ and ‘a’
in foreign language phrases case
to function as such in place
names, brands, and catch
phrases except for some of the
most familiar ones in French and
Spanish, where one recognizes
‘la’-for instance-as meaning ‘the.’
‘The El Nino’ is redundant, but
‘the hoi polloi’ is standard
English” (Brians, 102).
13. Hoi Polloi can be used
negatively!
The term Hoi Polloi is
usually used by those
who believe they are
above a group of
people. The word Hoi
Polloi usually means "
the ignorant masses",
or "the common
people.”
Synonyms of Hoi Polloi in
the English language
include: Bum, High School
Drop out, Fast Food
Worker, etc.
14. Hoi Polloi: History
O Hoi polloi, is an expression from Greek that means
the many or, in the strictest sense, the majority. In
English, it means the working class, commoners,
the masses or common people in a derogatory
sense. Synonyms for hoi polloi which also express
the same or similar contempt for such people
include "the great unwashed", "the plebeians" or
"plebs", "the rabble", "riff-raff", "the herd", "the
proles" and "peons". The phrase became known to
English scholars probably from Pericles' Funeral
Oration, as mentioned in Thucydides' History of
the Peloponnesian War. Pericles uses it in a
positive way when praising the Athenian
democracy, contrasting it with hoi oligoi, "the few"
Its current English usage originated in the early
19th century, a time when it was generally
accepted that one must be familiar with Greek
and Latin in order to be considered well educated.
The phrase was originally written in Greek letters.
Knowledge of these languages served to set apart
the speaker from hoi polloi in question, who were
not similarly educated
15. Why is it important to stay free
from common errors in our
writing?
O It is important to stay free from errors in our writing
because similar words can completely change the
meaning of our sentences. In the workforce, we are
judged by how well we communicate in our emails and
other documents.
16. Wrap Up!
O Due process: deals with established rules
O Due diligence: Effort required to carry out
a task
O Hoi Polloi: Ancient Greek term that means the
common people
17. Works Cited:
• “Due Process.” The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1993.
• Paul Brian’s “Common Errors in English Usage” Website:
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
• Manser, Martin H., and David Pickering. The Facts On File
Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. New York: Facts
on File, 2002. Print
