sad sack

American  

noun

Slang.

1. a pathetically inept person, especially a soldier, who continually blunders in spite of good intentions.

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sad sack British  

noun

1. slang an inept person who makes mistakes despite good intentions

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sad sack Idioms  

1. A singularly inept person, as in Poor George is a hopeless sad sack. This term alludes to a cartoon character, Sad Sack, invented by George Baker in 1942 and representing a soldier in ill-fitting uniform who failed at whatever he tried to do. It was soon transferred to clumsily inept civilians.

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Other Word Forms

• sad-sack
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sad sack

After the cartoon character created in 1942 by U.S. cartoonist George Baker (1915–75)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sad sack

Paul Matthews is a fiercely memorable loser, a sad sack who bristles with recognizably Cageian energy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

Would that Christmas sad sack be hosting a cooking show on TikTok?

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2023

“Blonde” wants you to believe that one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons was a haunted, hated sad sack who cried, screamed and groveled her way through film history.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2022

Delaney and Cassidy are terrific as sibling rivals, with Delaney's Hatch taking the sad sack role as the wise loser everyone disregards.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2022

In “Night Safari,” first performed in January 2018, Wilson plays Gary, the sad sack leader of what may be the most pathetic animal tour ever.

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2021