rank and file

• rank-and-file

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

rank and file (uncountable)

1. Enlisted soldiers in a military organization, as would be arrayed in a grid pattern with ranks and files.
2. (idiomatic) The members of an organization, community, etc. who are not in leadership positions.

   The executives attend meetings in exotic locations while the rank and file stays at headquarters doing the bulk of the work.

   • 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, “British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     First, a prominent Tory called the party’s rank and file “swivel-eyed loons.”

   • 2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times‎^[2]:

     Overnight, I have joined the rank and file of gym-bound office employees in their sneakers and suits. You know: the ones who walk around trailing sad little bags containing soggy towels and spare shoes and shampoo.