zilch
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See also: Zilch
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Uncertain. First attested as Zilch, a placeholder surname (compare John Doe) in the American humor magazine Ballyhoo in 1931. Compare the rare German surname Zilch.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: zĭlch, IPA(key): /zɪltʃ/
Audio (AU) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪltʃ
Noun[edit]
zilch (countable and uncountable, plural zilches)
- (countable, informal, archaic) A nobody: a person who is worthless in importance or character.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nonentity
- 1931 July, Ballyhoo, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 1:
- President Henry P. Zilch. Chairman of the Board Charles D. Zilch. Treasurer Otto Zilch.
- 1932 February, Ballyhoo, Vol. II, No. 1:
- Bernarr MacZilch [for Bernarr Macfadden] and His Dynamic-Hooey System... The WEAKLING Who Became 'The World's Most Perfect Ass!'
- 1940, Lester V. Berrey & al., The American Thesaurus of Slang, §184:
- Dinglegoofer, Mr. Zilch, indefinite nicknames.
- (uncountable, informal) Nothing, zero.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nothing
- Her search for decent home-made winter clothes came up with zilch, so she had to get imported stuff.
- 1991, Judith Arnold, One Good Turn, page 104:
- "If the homeless wind up with zilch," James retorted, veiling his indignation behind a malevolent smile, "it's because they deserve zilch."
Translations[edit]
(informal) nothing
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Adjective[edit]
zilch (not comparable)
- (informal, chiefly US) No, zero, non-existent.
- 1966, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
- Zilch, adj. Nothing, zero...
- 1977 February 3, The Telegraph, p. 14:
- ...gorgeous faces but zilch talent...
- 1966, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
Verb[edit]
zilch (third-person singular simple present zilches, present participle zilching, simple past and past participle zilched)
- (informal, US sports) To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.
- 1969, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
- We zilched them on that rubber.
- 1990 April 2, USA Today, p. 20:
- My favorite film of 1989 got zilched... That would be Field of Dreams.
- 1969, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
Synonyms[edit]
References[edit]
- Douglas Harper, “zilch”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2021.
- “zilch, n. (and adj.).”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1986.
- “zilch, v.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1993.
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