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common touch, the

common touch, the idiom

The ability to appeal to the ordinary person's sensibilities and interests. For example, The governor is an effective state leader who also happens to have the common touch. This phrase employs common in the sense of “everyday” or “ordinary.” [c. 1940]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.