Dictionary

schlimazel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ʃləˈmɑːzəl/

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish שלימזל (shlimazl), from Middle High German slim (“crooked”) and Hebrew מזל (mazzāl, “luck”)

Meanings

1. (US, colloquial) A chronically unlucky person.
   • On Jewish Heritage Day, there was ample time to debate whether the Mets are schlemiels or schlimazels with the home team down 8-1 after five. Fans were given shirts that read “Let’s Go Mets” in Hebrew, but “Oy vey!” was more appropriate. 2004 August 30, Michael Morrissey, “METS GET SLAMMED AGAIN – VENTURA GRANNY KEYS DODGER ROUT”, in New York Post:
   • I must have pressed two buttons at once, he decided; jammed the works and got this schlimazl’s eye view of reality. 1962, Philip K. Dick, “The Man in the High Castle”, in Four Novels of the 1960s, Library of America, published 2007, page 46:
   • Hertz is an early contender for Wall Street’s schlimazel of the decade, the big unlucky lemon that just can’t seem to get anything right. 2024 May 16, “Who Wants 30,000 Used Teslas?”, in Intelligencer, retrieved 16 May 2024:

Forms

Relateds

shemozzle · schlemiel

Translations (13)

nl schlemiel (a chronically unlucky person) · it sfigato (a chronically unlucky person) · pl sierota (a chronically unlucky person) · pl pechowiec (a chronically unlucky person) · nl pechvogel (a chronically unlucky person) · el γρουσούζης (a chronically unlucky person) · es gafe (a chronically unlucky person) · yi שלימזל (a chronically unlucky person) · de Pechvogel (a chronically unlucky person) · el γκαντέμης (a chronically unlucky person) · da ulykkesfugl (a chronically unlucky person) · pl nieudacznik (a chronically unlucky person) · sh баксуз (a chronically unlucky person)

wikidata: Q6969257