ne'er-do-well
UK /ˈnɛə.duˌwɛl/ · US /ˈnɛɹ.duˌwɛl/ noun, adjective
Forms ne'er-do-wells
- noun A person without a means of support; an idle, worthless person; a loafer; a person who is ineffectual, unsuccessful, or completely lacking in merit; a good-for-nothing.
- noun A person who is up to no good; a rogue.
- adjective Showing the characteristics of a ne'er-do-well: indolent, worthless, or roguish.
Synonyms
good-for-nothing nogoodnik vagabond never-do-well goldbrick goof-off no-account good-for-naught
Etymology
From the phrase never do well.
"Ne'er-do-well" is a contracted compound word stemming from the combination of the words "never do well."
“Never-do-well” is sometimes used as an offhand, expanded version of the phrase, where “never” is not contracted. The usage of this version is often attributed to the northeastern United States.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ne'er-do-well”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details