variants
also shlemiel
as in loser
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Recent Examples of schlemiel
This character may be Grade’s most magnificently grotesque creation, half demon, half schlemiel.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
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
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schlemiel
Noun
-
Tariffs are creating a new set of winners and losers.—
Peter Cohan,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
-
The losers Shares of U.S. carriers have been battered by Trump's tariffs and softening travel demand, with the S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR losing nearly a third of its value since January 20.—
Shashwat Chauhan and Medha Singh,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Dutton is reluctant at first but soon unleashes his fists on two chumps to the tune of $420.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
23 Feb. 2025
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Who think that kindness, tolerance and sacrifice aren’t strictly for chumps.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Buck is a loquacious, glad-handing oaf who has a boring way with a witty story, and is marked for death.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Hackman’s aggravation early on that directors didn’t seek out and exploit his comic and even improv talents was handled unforgettably in his portrayal of Superman villain Lex Luthor, a flamboyant oaf of Trumpian proportions.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Don’t be a palooka, start Nacua.—
Bill Reinhard,
New York Daily News,
12 Dec. 2024
-
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
Noun
-
There’s at least one major shoe that could drop — why devote an entire episode to the Gemstone origin story if that gold Bible isn’t going to pay off somehow? — but The Righteous Gemstones loves these grotesque, dysfunctional louts.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
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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And, cameras can easily miss capturing turkeys that are just out of range.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
1 May 2025
-
Poultry is king in NC Thousands of farms raise chicken and turkeys for corporations in large, long and tightly packed barns across the state.—
Gavin Off,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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As boss, Patrick Kramer eschews the oily portrayal of some to make his Franklin Hart a straight-up dolt.—
Matthew J. Palm,
Orlando Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2025
-
As boss, Patrick Kramer eschews the oily portrayal of some to make his Franklin Hart a straight-up dolt.—
Matthew J. Palm,
Orlando Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Schlemiel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlemiel. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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