as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show
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Recent Examples of bush-league
While Chad is giving bush-league Sandler, the supporting characters are ripped from the playbook of Ted Lasso—another sports comedy based on a viral bit, not to mention a massively popular show whose title surely figured in the development of Chad Powers.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what.
—Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what.
—Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bush-league
Adjective
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The takeover will continue until the district meets criteria set by the Texas Education Agency, which include exceeding the state and/or regional average for meeting-grade-level proficiency in reading and math, and ensuring the district has no schools unacceptable ratings for multiple years.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Mar. 2026
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To have to come and be in this particular bracket every freaking year is unacceptable.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This struck me as heartbreakingly lame and, therefore, as a moment of vital consequence.—
Amanda Peet,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
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Duke fires the shot that kills the king Dying Tommy insists Duke finish him off with the bullet like a lame horse.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If that doesn't open your eyes in law enforcement, something's wrong with you.—
Lauren Clark,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Both assumptions are increasingly wrong.—
Brian Barlow,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Serious Medical and Emotional Neglect Turner said Kaiko arrived in poor health, suffering from multiple medical issues and signs of prolonged neglect.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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The city of Plano scores restaurants on a 100-point system, with 100 considered a perfect score and 70 extremely poor.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Bernadine appeared to be useless—or, worse, a potential double agent.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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This is very bad for our health.—
Peter D'Oench,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Astin sinks into his pathetic character with full commitment, but the running gag about Ron getting more upset about the possibility of being banned from the fast-food restaurant than anything else is hammered so relentlessly that the character just seems mentally challenged.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Mar. 2026
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Of course, the notes turn out to mostly be about her as well as the principal (played by Gosling), detailing their most pathetic behaviors.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Most were sterilized because they were believed to be mentally ill or mentally deficient.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
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In fact, 18% of postmenopausal women are deficient in vitamin B12, a 2025 study published in the Indian Menopause Society’s Journal of Mid-Life Health found.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But Kardashian celebrated its terrible reviews, and the series was renewed for a second season.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2026
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One hundred fifteen years later, a memorial to the workers who died reveals itself as a reminder that workers’ rights were purchased at a terrible cost, and that the lives lost there still ask something of us.—
Christina Ray Stanton,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bush-league. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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