schlemiel
or schle·mihl, shle·miel
[ shluh-meel ]
/ ʃləˈmil /
noun Slang.
an awkward and unlucky person for whom things never turn out right.
Origin of schlemiel
1890–95; < Yiddish
shlemil < Hebrew
shəlumīʾēl Shelumiel, a Biblical and Talmudic figure
Words nearby schlemiel
schlatter-osgood disease,
schlegel,
schleicher,
schleiden,
schleiermacher,
schlemiel,
schlemm's canal,
schlep,
schleppy,
schlesien,
schlesinger
Example sentences from the Web for schlemiel
The song ends up a hit, and the schlemiel has done it again.
Fact Vs. Fiction in ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’: The Real Story of Folk is Far Less Dejected Than the Movie |Jimmy So |December 4, 2013 |DAILY BEASTDo you call an ineffectual, hapless person a schlemiel, a shlemel, a shlemyel, or a schlemeyel?
Based on the leaked reports, he said, “a schlemiel could have done this.”
Ever since Gifkin leaves us, y'understand, we got in our cutting room one Schlemiel after another.
Elkan Lubliner, American |Montague Glass
British Dictionary definitions for schlemiel
schlemiel
schlemihl or shlemiel
/ (ʃləˈmiːl) /
noun
US slang
an awkward or unlucky person whose endeavours usually fail
Word Origin for schlemiel
Yiddish, from German, after the hero of a novel by Chamisso (1781–1838)