# How do you say "Tom, Dick, and Harry" in your language? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416 "2003-10-03T19:54:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/1 "2003-10-03T19:54:14Z")
You know, the generic “three guys”: “If I let you have a second helping of tripe, I’ll have every Tom, Dick, and Harry asking for more.” And their singular friend, So-and-so: “How come you invited so-and-so to the party but you didn’t invite me?” So, how do you say these in your language? I’ll start with Portuguese: Multiple: fulano, beltrano e sicrano Singular: “fulano” or “fulano de tal” ---
**Author:** ![Shepherdless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Shepherdless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shepherdless)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/2 "2003-10-05T00:40:23Z")
In French : Pierre-Jean-Jacques (Peter, John and Jack) Madame/Monsieur Untel (Mr./Mrs Onesuch) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mean\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/3 "2003-10-05T00:45:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minor7flat5 \* > \*\*I’ll start with Portuguese: > Multiple: fulano, beltrano e sicrano > Singular: “fulano” or “fulano de tal” \*\* Cool 🙂 Im Brazilian, that’s a perfect example. Do you speak portuguese? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/4 "2003-10-05T04:00:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mean Boy \* > \*\*Cool 🙂 > Im Brazilian, that’s a perfect example. > Do you speak portuguese? \*\* Yes. I have been married to a _carioca_ for many years. I love Brazil and the Portuguese language. As I write this, there lies on my desk a copy of _Cidade de Deus_ by Paulo Lins that I am reading at an agonizingly slow pace. Welcome to the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![Zapper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a88e4f/32.png) [@Zapper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zapper)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/5 "2003-10-05T04:05:44Z")
In Spanish, the singular is “Fulano” as well. If you have more than one, you use, in that order “Fulano, Mengano, Talano, Sultano,…”. That are the only I know, but probably this varies from region to region. Note that, as in Portuguese, all these made up names rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/6 "2003-10-05T04:32:17Z")
Beleza gente !? Nice to see some Brazilians around here ! How about you guys fill out the LOCATION part ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/7 "2003-10-05T05:50:14Z")
Fun question. Multiple: Jan, Piet & Klaas Singular: Dinges. :o) ---
**Author:** ![universe.zip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@universe.zip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/universe.zip)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/8 "2003-10-05T08:10:17Z")
German: Krethi und Plethi (only two, notice? also it´s supposed to have something to do with Cretans and Philistines, though why is beyond my knowledge) As for the singular: not quite sure, but “Dingsbums” is probably what you´re looking for. Heh, this is fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c37758/32.png) [@Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Owes_Bess)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/9 "2003-10-05T11:03:14Z")
Australian: “Every man and his dog” That qualifies as a foreign language, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![krilli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@krilli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krilli)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/10 "2003-10-05T11:18:38Z")
Icelandic: Jón og Gunna (John and … um … his wife.) This means “the normal people”, “joe six-pack and wife”. Pétur og Páll (Peter and Paul, of course.) The meaning of this is more like Tom/Dick/Harry of English. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/11 "2003-10-05T13:43:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alan Owes Bess \* > \*\*Australian: “Every man and his dog” > > That qualifies as a foreign language, doesn’t it? \*\* Dunno about Aussie, but it’s much the same in hebrew - but more like “The whole world and his wife (and the dog)” - the latter if you want to depict a **real** mob scene, as opposed to the garden variety 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/12 "2003-10-05T14:36:30Z")
Well From what I remember of Colombia we would say “Julano de tal” And according to my girlfriend (who’s german) you would say: “Hinz und Kunz”. She does not recognize “Krethi und Plethi” at all though. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/13 "2003-10-05T17:25:23Z")
UNIX: foo, bar, baz, qux… Sorry! That was geeky. ---
**Author:** ![universe.zip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@universe.zip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/universe.zip)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/14 "2003-10-05T18:43:37Z")
Oh yes, **Kinthalis** , how could I forget Hinz and Kunz… Krethi und Plethi is a bit outdated. “Jeder x-beliebige” also has the meaning of “anyone”. ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-tom-dick-and-harry-in-your-language/205416/15 "2003-10-05T21:36:21Z")
According to my Danish friend: > [@](#): > > In Danish that would be: “Gud og hvermand” meaning “God and every other man”.