Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Sports An incompetent or easily defeated athlete, especially a prizefighter.
- noun Slang A stupid or clumsy person.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun US slang A
stupid ,oafish orclumsy person. - noun US, boxing Someone
incompetent oruntalented in the specified area.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a second-rate prize fighter
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This is the guy that Federal should have signed up instead of the wrestling palooka.
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It's important to note that none of the potential cost-cutting measures I've mentioned touch the big palooka.
Tom Engelhardt: Cutting $100 Billion?... Easy -- If Only Washington Had a Brain Tom Engelhardt 2011
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This is the guy that Federal should have signed up instead of the wrestling palooka.
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I saw the big Irish palooka come out and head toward his car.
Dancing with the Devil Louis Diaz 2010
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I saw the big Irish palooka come out and head toward his car.
Dancing with the Devil Louis Diaz 2010
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“Better than hitting some poor old palooka in the head,” Ruth replied.
DIAMOND RUBY Joseph Wallace 2010
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“Better than hitting some poor old palooka in the head,” Ruth replied.
DIAMOND RUBY Joseph Wallace 2010
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The best stories are usually when his bulldog, Mike, also plays a part, as the big dumb palooka gets into trouble with his loyal powerhouse furry friend.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: Waterfront Fists and Others - Robert E. Howard Blue Tyson 2008
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“Better than hitting some poor old palooka in the head,” Ruth replied.
DIAMOND RUBY Joseph Wallace 2010
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I saw the big Irish palooka come out and head toward his car.
Dancing with the Devil Louis Diaz 2010
zuccaciyecioglu commented on the word palooka
This is on the National Spelling Bee Master Word List, under words that occur frequently. Origin unknown, if memory serves.
September 26, 2008
super-labmaven commented on the word palooka
from YourDictionary.com:
noun
Slang: a clumsy or oafish fellow, esp. an inept athlete
October 27, 2009
reesetee commented on the word palooka
Not our palooka. Our palooka is a gracious, amusing, but steely-eyed leader of Wordie Treatment battles. :-)
October 28, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word palooka
Also, he has no nipples. (By his own claim.)
October 28, 2009
reesetee commented on the word palooka
Yes. We let him think that. ;->
October 29, 2009
bilby commented on the word palooka
Does anyone have more info or theories on the origin of this word?
June 21, 2020
alexz commented on the word palooka
My theory is that it came from 1940s movies from Australia given the definition about boxing
https://books.google.ca/books?id=SPps6d210zYC&pg=PA74&dq=palooka
Maybe it's from a decade earlier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNoG7NDOyc4 1930's movie and comic strips.
June 21, 2020