sad sack
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noun Slang.
a pathetically inept person, especially a soldier, who continually blunders in spite of good intentions.
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Origin of sad sack
After the cartoon character created in 1942 by U.S. cartoonist George Baker (1915–75)
OTHER WORDS FROM sad sack
sad-sack, adjectiveWords nearby sad sack
sadomasochism, sadomasochistic, Sadová, Sadowa, SADS, sad sack, sad tree, SAE, Saehrimnir, Saemisch's operation, Saemisch's section
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for sad sack
British Dictionary definitions for sad sack
sad sack
noun
US slang an inept person who makes mistakes despite good intentions
Word Origin for sad sack
C20: from a cartoon character created by G. Baker, US cartoonist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with sad sack
sad sack
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.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.