patzer
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of patzer
1955–60; probably < German Patzer bungler, equivalent to patz ( en ) to bungle (compare Austrian dialect Patzen stain, blot, patzen to make a stain) + -er -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I'm just a patzer, but I always enjoy looking at your chessboard illustration, trying to guess the next move.
From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2014
"Unheard melodies," murmured the yellow-tied patzer sitting near me.
From Time Magazine Archive
The yellow-tied patzer had come for beauty, but Ljubo had come for truth.
From Time Magazine Archive
The picture often has the flashy moves of a chess patzer.
From Time Magazine Archive
A tall, gentle man with steel-rimmed glasses and a perpetual smile, Hartleb greeted everyone he met—champion or patzer, beginner or veteran, child or octogenarian—by bowing low and saying with deep reverence, “Master!”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
