square peg in a round hole

Idioms

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025

I don’t know exactly what that might look like, but it does feel like a little bit of a square peg in a round hole the way we’re trying to deal with it right now.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2024

“I keep coming back to this fear that we’re trying to put a square peg in a round hole here.”

From Washington Times • Apr. 19, 2023

It was a square peg in a round hole for weeks and resulted in ugly losses at Alabama and LSU.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2021

What Failures Realize If a man is a square peg in a round hole, he should realize that his particular qualities must be fitted into the right field for them before he can succeed.

From Certain Success by Hawkins, Norval A.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023