schlimazel
Born under misfortune
A schlimazel is a persistently unlucky person—someone for whom things always seem to go wrong.
The Yiddish term is often paired with schlemiel: the schlemiel spills the soup, the schlimazel gets it spilled on him.
Poor guy's a real schlimazel—if it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.
Without good fortune
- ill-fatedDestined to fail
- ill-starredFated to fail
- star-crossedDoomed by destiny
- snakebitChronically unlucky person
hard-luck · unfortunate · jinxed · doomed · cursed · hapless · woebegone · misfortunate
Ineffectual, timid person
luckless
Without good fortune
- ill-fatedDestined to fail
- ill-starredFated to fail
- star-crossedDoomed by destiny
snakebit · hard-luck · unfortunate · jinxed · doomed · cursed · hapless · woebegone · misfortunate · accident-prone
nebbish
Ineffectual, timid person
adversity
Severe difficulty or suffering
loser
Defeated competitor
scapegoat · pushover · doormat · sucker · mark · dupe · butt · target
- Yiddishchutzpah, kvetch, mensch, schlep, tchotchke
- Jewish comedyBorscht Belt, Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry David
- dimwitsdimwit, idiot, dolt, dunce, moron
- foolsfool, idiot, moron, fools, idiots
schlimazelgolden child
Family's most favored member
lucky dog · blessed · fair-haired boy · fortunate · winner
schlimazelschlemiel
Habitual, pitiable bungler
jinx · hex · walking disaster · troublemaker
schlimazelmensch
Person of noble character
maven · go-getter · high achiever · success story · overachiever