palooka
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Possibly from the Polish surname Paluka, or a variant of Polack.[1]
Used in the US since the 1920s, originally primarily of boxers. Popularized by Jack Conway of Variety,[2][3] who also popularized baloney and bimbo. Further popularized by Ham Fisher in his comic strip Joe Palooka, about a boxer (published in newspapers since 1930, particularly popular in 1940s).[4]
Noun[edit]
palooka (plural palookas)
- (US slang) A stupid, oafish or clumsy person.
- (US, boxing, bridge and similar ventures) Someone incompetent or untalented in the specified area.
- 1923, Lincoln Star, Nebraska, March 1923:
- But [Jack] Dempsey against some palooka who had been press agented into greatness and into the form of a Dempsey menace — that would pack any outdoor arena.
- 1923, Lincoln Star, Nebraska, March 1923:
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ “Palooka”, World Wide Words, Michael Quinion
- ^ Esquire, September 1936
- ^ H. L. Mencken, 1945 supplement to The American Language, reviewed in Books: Alphabet Soup, TIME, Monday, Aug. 27, 1945
- ^ Cassell’s Dictionary Of Slang. Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9
