sad sack

noun Slang.

a pathetically inept person, especially a soldier, who continually blunders in spite of good intentions.

Origin:
after the cartoon character created in 1942 by U.S. cartoonist George Baker (1915–75)

Related forms

sad-sack, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

sad sack

—n
	slang (US) an inept person who makes mistakes despite good intentions

[C20: from a cartoon character created by G. Baker, US cartoonist]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10

Sad sack is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Slang Dictionary

sad sack definition

n.
a sad person; a listless or depressed person. : Tom always looks like such a sad sack.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

sad sack

A singularly inept person, as in Poor George is a hopeless sad sack. This term alludes to a cartoon character, Sad Sack, invented by George Baker in 1942 and representing a soldier in ill-fitting uniform who failed at whatever he tried to do. It was soon transferred to clumsily inept civilians.

Matching Quote

"All the world is sad and dreary, Everywhere I roam."

-Stephen Collins Foster

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