Was soll das denn heissen? Das Representative...?

the run of the mill,
bog standard,
boilerplate (nur eventuell, je nach Kontext)

- is the best expression here, not derogatory but colloquial and a little bit 'colourful', as requested!

Übrigens, ist hundsgewöhnlich Deutsch? Hätte ich nicht zu einem Deutsch gesagt...

"hundsgemein" ist das häufigere Wort, aber "hundsgewöhnlich" habe ich auch schon mal gehört - wäre mir jedenfalls nicht über Gebühr aufgefallen.

Allerdings nicht so viele Googles:
http://www.google.de/search?hl=en&q=hundsgew%...

The speaker is Swiss, and the novel (Zündels Abgang) hochumgangssprachlich. Do any of you know an AE equivalent of 'bog standard'? 'Run of the mill' is good, but doesn't have the flavor of the hunds* prefix (so to call it). There is the expression hundsgemein, which is nastier than what is meant here, I think.

Thought so, it's totally Swiss.

What do you mean it doesn't have the flavor of the hunds prefix?

Cookie cutter?

support #3 bog standard
also perhaps utterly common, perfectly ordinary

Flavor in the sense of metaphorical color. 'Dog' is supposed to suggest something lowly (pardon me, animal lovers—of whom I'm one—but there are such expressions, e.g. it's a dog's life). (I don't want this to become a political correctness issue or matter of principle.)

doggone normal/ordinary

e.g.; wenn man schon mal auf den Hund gekommen ist. :-)

if u insist on the dog ... perhaps common as a mutt

Klo, Moor, Scheißhaus, Sumpf... ist doch "lowly", oder? ;^)

i find common = lowly enough

nur weil auf deutsch der Hund drinnen ist ... Engländer lieben Hunde

so the common man is a lowly man to you, noli? Interesting.

#12 Yeah, but it's not AE-common, which is what I'm looking for in this case. I'm not insisting on the dog, just something with more color/flavor than a 'mill' (run-of-the-mill). Anyway, I'm getting the impression I'll have to be inventive.
Also re #12, I'm not really looking for nasty.

palamabron - think you are making a bit of a dog's dinner -

commonplace 

imo is what you want

Apologies for insisting, but this is the expression you are looking for

"bog" before an adjective is really only found in BE.

The history of the expression is that a company many years ago manufacturing a childrens construction set offered one item as the 'Box - Standard' and one as the 'Box - Deluxe'. These morphed over the years into our now commonly used 'bog standard', simply meaning the regular choice, and 'dog's bollocks' (pardon the language, meaning the very best choice. Nothing so strange as language and its development! I stick by bog standard, which is NOT too colloquial, whereas 'dog's bollocks' should be used with great caution, as this is indeed more risque.

@pumpkin–3: Can you please let go of your insistence now?

"Bog standard" may be an EXQUISITE term, but to an American ear, it's as unintelligible as if it were German.

Neither I nor anybody I've ever known in 62 years knows the word "bog" to mean anything other than "swamp" (Sumpf) or in the verb "to bog down" "to get bogged down".. i.e. to become badly hampered by something such as an excess of paperwork or other stumbling blocks.

A good American expression, which I "believe" is correct here (not knowing the nuances of the B.E. expression) is, as @sagenferget proposed:

cookie-cutter

or you prefer something very conversational and colloquial, then:

ho-hum would be inventive and well-understood.

Example:

"We expected the film to be something really special, but sadly it was so ho-hum that we almost walked out."

both ho-hum and cookie-cutter mean very ordinary but carry different nuances:

cookie-cutter = von der Stange

ho-hum implies, to me at least, something between "boring" and "very average" ,"formulaic"

Just a note:

Funny thing about "risqué" words...

To an American, "bollocks" doesn't sound the least bit foul, dirty, offensive, impolite or anything other than perhaps very English and quaint. You could use it in front of your granny. We think of the expression, "Oh, bollocks!" as a very soft and rather funny exclamation tantamount to, "Oh, darn it!" or "Oh, fudge it!"
Also to us Americans, one could easily say to small children, "Stop your bollocksing, you two!"

OT: Im BE gibt es "bollocking" (ohne S), aber das ist weder besonders stubenrein, noch etwas, was kleine Kinder veranstalten könnten, sondern eher das, was die Eltern veranstalten, wenn das Kind die Wand angemalt hat.

Es gibt mehr als 300 Millionen Amerikaner, Mike. Sie alle über einen - nämlich deinen - Kamm zu scheren ist doch etwas wagemutig, finde ich.

Was heisst denn Bollocks auf britisch? Was wäre auf deutsch oder amerikanisch synonym? Heisst es Eier, so wie der dict sagt?

#23: Zwei Sachen, die mit "Sch" anfangen und mit "eiße!" und "wachsinn!" aufhören. Genau, und das ursprünglich.

Ja, Schwachsinn, Unfug, so verstehe ich es auch, aber das ist doch nicht Scheisse... :-)
Also ist es auf der Scheisse-Ebene, verstehe ich das richtig? Oder ein weing drunter aber noch über Mist?

Wie empfindest du denn Mist? Kann man das zu den Kindern sagen, ohne dass die Grossmutter grosse Augen macht? "Jetzt schluss mit dem Mist, ihr zwei!"

Finde ich absolut "stubenrein".. :-)

Wenn Dir selbst etwas Blödes passiert (Marmeladenmesser auf Teppich) kannst Du es auch zum Fluchen verwenden: deshalb als "Schei**e" übersetzt. Auf jeden Fall noch besser als "sh**!", so ähnlich wie Mist, ja.
Aber die Skala ist verschoben, denn Deutsche nehmen sich eh weniger Blätter vor den Mund. Ich bin immer ganz entsetzt, wenn ich wieder mal in Deutschland bin.

@dude:

Wherever I go, there you are, like a black shadow ready to jump on my throat.

Only an idiot or a very disturbed and bitter individual would imagine I speak for each and EVERY of the 300 million Americans.

Most intelligent people understand that fairly educated opinions can be stated without having to provide reference sources for each sentence.
That would be rather impractical and pretty much bring the world to a halt, wouldn't you think?

Mike, Du musst schon zugeben, dass Dein
"Bog standard" may be an EXQUISITE term, but to an American ear, it's as unintelligible as if it were German 
eine sehr verallgemeinernde Aussage ist.
Es geht auch ohne solche Rundumschläge.

My my, we are getting worked up, arent we mikestorer! I'm not insisting anyone should use anything I suggest, but I do maintain that bollocks is coarse in any context - maybe not for you, but there are millions of others who don't use these words as a daily diet. Just food for thought, so to speak. And in front of children? Well well . . .the future for our kids does look rosy with that attitude.

FYI as unintelligible in English English as you are suggesting bs is in American English. Simply means something you cut up biscuits with. Are you open to learning as well as rampaging in this forum?

#30: [cookie cutter is] as unintelligible in English English as you are suggesting bs is in American English. Simply means something you cut up biscuits with.

I agree. Indeed, I wonder whether some of the LEO entries could do with a geographical tag: Dictionary: cookie cutter

Thanks Kinky Afro! The arguments do get wearisome at times and a little support is most welcome.

re #31: Kinky, it would be lovely of you to volunteer to do that. Thank you. (-:

While you're at it, I would support marking 'bog' (adj.) in this sense [Brit.] as well, in any combination. mikestorer may have been a little too insistent about it, but he's right that it's completely unfamiliar in AE, and several people (or one person under various names) did seem to keep insisting on it despite that.

What about 'common as mud/dirt'? Would that be generally understandable but still negative enough?

Otherwise there should be a fair amount in the archive under similar terms; I'm thinking also 08/15, however written or spelled out, though that's a little milder.

#33 common as muck

Is mainly used about people as a derogatory term, suggesting they have a poor or lower class background and no education or social graces. Choose anything that means ordinary, everyday, regular, anything you like really. If you want to be more discerning and find an expression on the same language level from a gut feeling standpoint, I remain with my previous suggestion. Just throwing more words around is not going to help here any more.

@Lady Grey:

OK, I see we have yet another nit-picker.

Let me rephrase to meet the Germanic minimum requirements for exactitude and irreproachability:

"Bog standard" may be an EXQUISITE term, but to SEVERAL American ears, it's as unintelligible as if it were German."

Does that satisfy you? Lau aber nett unanfechtbar.

How annoyingly perfectionistic you Germanic types can be about each tiny detail.
There is ALWAYS someone ready to jump down someone else's throat. I think it must be ingrained in the culture to bite first before someone bites you. I wonder how many centuries that's been passed on by generations. It just seems barbaric. Yes, it's MY observation and I don't need any more proof than seeing it so frequently.
Each of you must admit that you do this to each other constantly. Tell me I'm wrong.

Ich maße mir jedenfalls nicht an, für ein ganzes Volk zu sprechen. Wenn Du das als "lau" empfindest, bitte - ich empfinde es als präzise.

is still colourful, as requested way back at the beginning! I rest my case, you will be glad to hear!

bog standard
Commentis still colourful, - I'm afraid is still only bog standard - nothing colourful about it...

Would the two of you (#38, #39) please stop suggesting something that is completely useless in this case?

Please see #15, where palamabron specifically requested something that will work in AE.

Childishness is so unattractive

@hm-US:

you wrote:

"...mikestorer may have been a little too insistent about it, but he's right that it's completely unfamiliar in AE,..."

It seems that other people also speak for their culture at large and not just themselves.

Are you people going to tell him he's "anmassend" to speak for Americans in general?

Or do two Americans (likely from far apart regions) help you to concede that the statement is true?

@mikestorer: du beschwerst dich bei einigen Nutzern, daß sie dir an die Gurgel gehen und dir fällt dann nichts besseres ein, als ihnen nachzueifern? Was wirst du mir jetzt entgegnen? Fällt dir noch etwas anderes ein, als zurückzukeifen?

Wie sieht's mit "plain Jane" als Adjektiv für uns Amis aus????

Kann auch eingesetzt werden, um Gegenstände und andere Substantive zu beschreiben (sowie Menschen)