so-and-so

• so and so

so-and-so (plural so-and-sos)

1. A placeholder name for a person or thing, used when a name is not known; a generic person or thing.

   She told me to ask so-and-so, but he didn't know, either.

   Business letters normally begin "Dear Mr So-and-So".

   He will tell you to do so-and-so, but read the instructions first, anyway.

2. (euphemistic, derogatory) Used in place of epithets such as SOB, bastard, etc.

   That miserable so-and-so messed up my work!

   • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

     “How can five hundred pounds become a hundred thousand pounds?!”
     “I’m not a bank,” snapped Mr Big.
     “No, you just rob them!” said Frank.
     “Cocky little so-and-so, aren’t you?”

   • 2023 August 13, Michael Hogan, quoting Susan Wokoma, “Actor Susan Wokoma: ‘We all want to be married to Emma Thompson, don’t we?’”, in The Observer‎^[1]:

     Greg [Wise]’s excellent to work with. Funny and incredibly playful. He gets to be married to me by day and Emma Thompson by night. What a lucky so-and-so. We all want to be married to Emma Thompson, don’t we? I certainly do.

• See also Thesaurus:whatsaname

• such-and-such

• so-so

• Sodanos