# garden variety

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/garden-variety
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Ordinary, common, or unexceptional.

## Examples

- It was just a garden variety cold, nothing serious.
- The thief wasn't a mastermind — just a garden variety criminal who left fingerprints everywhere.
- Beneath the museum's celebrated masterpieces hung a row of garden variety portraits, dutifully commissioned by merchants long forgotten.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.