Is there a good alternative to "low man on the totem pole"?

Question

Since "low man on the totem pole" is potentially ambiguous (and is possibly offensive to some), are there any good alternative idioms to mean someone of low rank who gets stuck with undesirable things?

"Drawing the short straw" doesn't quite fit since that implies randomness.

jamesdlin · Accepted Answer

As I was writing the question, it occurred to me that "low in the pecking order" (or even less ambiguously, "last in the pecking order") could be a suitable substitute.

Yeshe · Answer

I like the greek lettering system: Alpha (alpha dog, top man, etc.), Beta (2nd in command)... Omega the last/least of the set.

Sven Yargs · Answer

Fans of the Dr. Seuss classic children's story Yertle the Turtle may appreciate the idiomatic use of "the turtle at the bottom" or "the turtle at the bottom of the stack" as an alternative to "low man on the totem pole." In Yertle the Turtle, King Yertle demands that the turtles in his pond stack themselves up to form a throne befitting his high and mighty status. Ultimately, Mack the turtle at the bottom of the stack topples the throne and overthrows Yertle—by burping.

The same idiom also suggests the undesirability of being the bottom-most turtle in the stack suggested by the idiom "turtles all the way down."

Julie Carter · Answer

The bottom of the heap (idiom):

people who are at the bottom of the heap are poor and unsuccessful and have the lowest position in society.
[Cambridge English Dictionary]

DiegoAndresJAY · Answer

How about peon? MW defines it as:

a person who does hard or boring work for very little money : a person who is not very important in a society or organization

A grunt may also work.

a person who does ordinary and boring work
[Merriam Webster]

katie sue · Answer

An alternative I prefer is, "low rung on the ladder."

Is there a good alternative to "low man on the totem pole"?

6 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question