I heard the term, Hoi Polloi, used in the movie Hairspray and recently I heard it used by a newscaster as well. Since I had no idea what it meant, I decided to look it up. Hoi Polloi is a term used as a disparaging remark referring to “the people” or “the masses.” It is a greek term and James Fenimore Cooper (who wrote The Last of the Mohicans) is credited with being the first to introduce it in English writing.