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.

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’ve always been a square peg in a round hole, and I was well aware of that, but when I drove into town I realized I’d found where I’m going to stay until I die.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2023

“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

He did not get strong again until it was too late for college, and he was a square peg in a round hole all his life, as he used to tell us.

From Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1902 to 1903 by Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)

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