people vs the great unwashed

people and the great unwashed both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
people	Yes	No	Yes	No
the great unwashed	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, people and the great unwashed are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of people include hoi polloi, mass, masses, multitude.

people (noun)	the great unwashed (noun)
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively	the common people generally
the body of citizens of a state or country
members of a family line
the common people generally

people (verb)	the great unwashed (verb)
fill with people
furnish with people