variants
also shlemiel
as in loser
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Recent Examples of schlemiel
He, the promising artist who died young, and I, the schlemiel who shovels out several hundred dollars a month to the storage company to house his artworks.
—
Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 16 Aug. 2023
Sanderson seems to me like an opportunist with an appetite for attention, or at the very least a schlemiel, possibly a little vain.
—Mireille Silcoff, New York Times, 2 May 2023
That poor schlemiel completely missed the point that Tim didn’t create the World Wide Web.
—Gil Press, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2023
On Instagram, Gellar posted a screencap of her titular Slayer meeting Pascal’s Eddie, a hapless schlemiel who — like Buffy herself — is having trouble adjusting to college life at UC Sunnydale.
—Vulture, 1 Mar. 2023
Superman was the ultimate hero, but Clark Kent was a schlemiel.
—David Mamet, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022
Like Woyzeck himself, Heather Chrisler's Helen hovers between antihero and schlemiel.
—Chicago Reader, 23 Aug. 2017
Will Stephenson, Harper's Magazine, 16 Aug. 2023
Sanderson seems to me like an opportunist with an appetite for attention, or at the very least a schlemiel, possibly a little vain.
—Mireille Silcoff, New York Times, 2 May 2023
That poor schlemiel completely missed the point that Tim didn’t create the World Wide Web.
—Gil Press, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2023
On Instagram, Gellar posted a screencap of her titular Slayer meeting Pascal’s Eddie, a hapless schlemiel who — like Buffy herself — is having trouble adjusting to college life at UC Sunnydale.
—Vulture, 1 Mar. 2023
Superman was the ultimate hero, but Clark Kent was a schlemiel.
—David Mamet, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022
Like Woyzeck himself, Heather Chrisler's Helen hovers between antihero and schlemiel.
—Chicago Reader, 23 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schlemiel
Noun
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As with other areas of the law, the Biden-Harris administration routinely weaponized antitrust enforcement to pick economic winners and losers.Tom Hebert, National Review, 13 Dec. 2024
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Reporters dutifully type up the winners and losers on their flights home.Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The decision by owner Terry Pegula, general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott to make the move illustrates how motivated the club was to part with Diggs, a pivotal character in transforming NFL chumps into perennial Super Bowl contenders.Tim Graham, The Athletic, 3 Apr. 2024
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That’s easy: a rube, chump, or mark, whose naive optimism sets them up for betrayal.Jamil Zaki, TIME, 3 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Either Sandler could make great work but cynically chooses not to in order to make more money, or Sandler is a talentless oaf who somehow was able to achieve something actually good with the help of a visionary director.Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2024
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As women have enjoyed more economic opportunities, they’re less often forced to marry some oaf who gets violent after a few drinks — and, anyway, what self-respecting woman with independent means would want to marry, say, a fan of Andrew Tate?Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun
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One year after the Academy bafflingly ignored his work in Sideways, Giamatti finally scored his first Oscar nomination for his purely entertaining performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in Ron Howard’s proudly old-fashioned Depression-era palooka drama.A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
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Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
Noun
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And when someone does cross the line, like the louts who doused cops in Harlem and Brownsville with water in 2019, most officers have shown remarkable restraint.Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2024
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That’s the memorable insult that James Kennedy (the DJ of the group) hurled at Tom Sandoval (the resident lout) last season after Sandoval — who had a girlfriend — became romantically involved with Kennedy’s ex-girlfriend.Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024
Noun
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In recent episodes, Gene has again taken to criminal scheming, employing the help of Jeff, the Omaha schnook who recognized the Cinnabon manager as the high-profile Saul Goodman.oregonlive, oregonlive, 8 Aug. 2022
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Sosa has hired someone, a poor schnook named Julian Martinez, to carry his boombox from city to city, clubhouse to clubhouse.Teddy Greenstein, chicagotribune.com, 3 May 2018
Noun
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So far, this bird flu outbreak has affected more than 112 million chickens, turkeys, and other poultry across the US since it was first detected at a turkey-producing facility in Indiana in February 2022.Simon Hill, WIRED, 14 Dec. 2024
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Knack was at Dodger Stadium with teammates Anthony Banda and Tony Gonsolin for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway on Nov. 20.Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
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But Joel and Ethan invest in other characters’ stories more — specifically, Josh Brolin’s conflicted fixer and Alden Ehrenreich’s anxious young actor — leaving Clooney to ham it up pleasantly as a forgettable dolt. 14.Will Leitch, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
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That tension is central to the third season, in which Harington’s Sir Henry Muck—an old-money dolt with a hilariously accurate name who is a perpetual disappointment to his family—enlists the bank to help launch a green-energy company.Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 7 Aug. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near schlemiel
Cite this Entry
“Schlemiel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlemiel. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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