square peg in a round hole

1. Also, round peg in a square hole. A misfit, especially a person unsuited for a position or activity. For example, Ruth doesn't have the finesse for this job; she's a round peg in a square hole. This idiom, with its graphic image of something that cannot fit, dates from about 1800.

Example Sentences

Fernandes is not the only United player I look at and think he is a square peg in a round hole.

From BBC

Matheus Nunes is a midfielder playing at right-back and though City managed to paper over it during the group stages, the square peg in a round hole was glaringly obvious once up against decent opposition.

From BBC

The unwieldy best-of-three format, on the other hand, fits like a square peg in a round hole.

From Los Angeles Times

By 2018, Bigham was on the Great Britain cycling team but found he was the square peg in a round hole.

From BBC

“He was such a square peg in a round hole,” Gluck said in an interview the day after Carr’s death.

From Los Angeles Times