The phrase is used the same way as Tom, Dick and Harry in English, or 'Pierre, Paul ou Jacques' in French, as a placeholder for a generic set of people.
[6][7] Owen told a governing body at Oxford University that "our critical situation and our common interests were discussed out of journals and newspapers by every Tom, Dick and Harry.
[7] For example, a variation of the phrase can be found in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 (1597): "I am sworn brother to a leash of Drawers, and can call them by their names, as Tom, Dicke, and Francis.
Other examples of this gradation include "tall, dark, and handsome", "hook, line, and sinker", "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", "lock, stock, and barrel"; and so on.
[citation needed] Tom, Dick and Harry is widely used, so it is beyond the scope of this article to list every passing mention.