mere mortal

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

mere mortal (plural mere mortals)

1. One who is not a god; a human being.
   • 2011, Matthew Stover, Robert E. Vardman, God of War, →ISBN:

     Show all the gods how even a mere mortal can best Ares's plans and defeat his will

2. (idiomatic) An ordinary person, without special expertise or status.
   • 2014, John Viescas, Michael J. Hernandez, SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL, →ISBN, page xx:

     If you use computer applications that let you access information from a database system, you're probably a mere mortal.

• lesser mortal