Question: I came across the term 'everyday people' in an unpublished essay. It strikes me as derogatory just because it is referring to people rather than to things and makes them appear common. But then there is 'common people' or 'commoners' to contend with, so I'm not very sure.

It was used like this:

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> Everyday people trooped to the theatre to see the show.
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Okay, so here is the exact sentence in its original context (it's from a short book review):

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> The book is brimming with stories of everyday people who in spite of
> the curves life threw at them were able to come up strong and better.
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What is the authoritative word on this?

Answer: 
A word will be derogatory if either the speaker (or writer) uses the word with the intent of being derogatory, or the hearer (or reader) interprets it in a way they see as derogatory. If a person sees him or herself as being above others in value or quality they would use “everyday people” as a derogatory phrase.

One issue we run into is that society is often that which determines whether or not a word is derogatory. At one point in time, the “n-word” was used, at times, without any derogatory intent (some certainly used it in a demeaning way, but not all). Over time though, that word became pretty well accepted as an inappropriate, derogatory word – even if it was spoken with no demeaning intent.

As society moves toward ‘politically correct’ labels, I can see where the same will hold true for “everyday people”. Over time, I can see where people will say, “whether you intended it or not, that’s derogatory – no one is more or less common (or everyday) than anyone else.”
Mm, you see *everyday people* next to *trooped* does give you the hint of a trace of contempt or irony. Could it be that it is intended to be so? If you want to make it more neutral I would find a synonym of *trooped* (like *gathered, crowded in*, etc). Or how about

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> All kinds of people trooped to the theatre to see the show.
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