schlemiel

American  

[shluh-meel] / ʃləˈmil /

Or schlemihl,

noun

Slang.

1. an awkward and unlucky person for whom things never turn out right.

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schlemiel British  

/ ʃləˈmiːl /

noun

1. slang an awkward or unlucky person whose endeavours usually fail

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Etymology

Origin of schlemiel

1890–95; < Yiddish shlemil < Hebrew shəlumīʾēl Shelumiel, a Biblical and Talmudic figure

Explanation

A schlemiel is a somewhat dopey, awkward person. You might angrily call your brother a schlemiel after he drops the cake you've spent all day making, stumbles, and sits on it. Nothing every goes quite right for a schlemiel — he's the guy who never seems to get any good luck, and who's less than brilliant and not particularly graceful. A schlemiel in a movie is an object of fun, perfect for laughing at. In real life, it's pretty hard to be a schlemiel. The word schlemiel means "bungler" in Yiddish, from a character called Peter Schlemihl in a classic German fable.

Example Sentences

A Jew writing in German, “Kafka sees that the schlemiel loses. He sees it through to the tragic end,” as European Jewry soon would.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

He had some idea as to why the showrunners had reimagined a capable, no-nonsense attorney as a schlemiel with unresolved trauma.

From New York Times • May 27, 2020

As Costanza, Mr. Stiller was perpetually struggling to control his temper, blood pressure and contempt for his son, George, a balding schlemiel played by Jason Alexander.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2020

Of all of Kate McKinnon’s recurring weirdo characters, there’s none so consistently hilarious as Coleen Rafferty – the unflappable, chain-smoking southern schlemiel who finds herself on the disgusting end of some paranormal mischief.

From The Guardian • May 22, 2019

He shoved me back, and like an utter schlemiel, I tripped over a branch and planted my butt in a shallow puddle.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros