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
-
The loser’s path becomes that much more formidable.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Tech companies, which have relied on H-1Bs for years, could be the biggest losers under the new rules.—
Patricia Lopez,
Mercury News,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
While a single-digit decline in real terms, a $4 billion loss is neither chump nor Trump change for any shareholders.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
24 Sep. 2025
-
In the space of less than two weeks, the Boston Red Sox have gone from chumps to, if not champs, at least contenders.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
The Irish independence-supporting Fenians, represented primarily by hotheaded oaf Paddy (Seamus O’Hara) and his more strategically minded sister Ellen (Niamh McCormack), loathe the family’s conservative unionist policies.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The pope, played by Samora la Perdida, is a mincing oaf who bickers with Galas about the value of translating Wagner.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Our top finds include a roasting pan for your future Thanksgiving turkey, a grill pan to make steak, chicken, and a crispy panini without firing up the grill, and a versatile utensil set.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The designs feature a star with water and green hills; a whale in water with a white bird underneath; and three turkey feathers encircling a chickadee.—
Chris Van Buskirk,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Woke scolds and anti-woke dolts alike objected to the image of Carpenter kneeling in front of a man who appears to be using her hair as a leash.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Those dolts and laggards that were holding them back are no longer a boat anchor.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Schlemiel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlemiel. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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