Schlemiel

The inept schlemiel is often presented alongside the unlucky schlimazel. A Yiddish saying explains that "a schlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup and a schlimazel is the person it lands on".[3] The schlemiel is similar to the schmuck but, as stated in a 2010 essay in The Forward, a schmuck can improve himself while a schlemiel is "irredeemably what they are".[4]

While the etymology of the term is unknown, one popular theory is that it comes from the Hebrew term shelo mo'il, meaning "useless".[5] Another theory is that the word is derived from the name Shelumiel, an Israeli chieftain.[6] Others claim that the term originated with the character Peter Schlemihl, the main character of a novella by Adelbert von Chamisso.[7]

According to Harvard University literature professor Ruth Wisse, the schlemiel as a type emerges in the Yiddish literature of the period of Jewish emancipation.[8]

• The theme song "Making Our Dreams Come True" in the opening montage in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983) was preceded with the title characters chanting, "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"[9]
• In a 1944 essay, Hannah Arendt argues that Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character is a schlemiel whose only comfort is "the kindness and humanity of casual acquaintances".[10]
• Many of Woody Allen's films feature Allen portraying a schlemiel type, particularly in his relations with women.[11]
• Larry David's character on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm serves as a modern schlemiel, encountering "problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews".[12]
• In the sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza "follows the pattern of the classic schlemiel", with Jerry Seinfeld's character serving as his schlimazel.[13]
• The 1995 Israeli-European animated feature The Real Shlemiel centers of a village of schlemiels, with its rabbi even taking it as a given name.
• The titular character of the 2004 comedy film Napoleon Dynamite embodies the traits of the schlemiel, according to researcher David Buchbinder.[14]
• In the drama series The O.C. (2003–2007), Seth Cohen's personality "is self-deprecating and in line with that of past schlemiels".[15]
• In the 2009 film A Serious Man directed by the Coen brothers, the character of Larry Gopnik is depicted as a schlemiel.[16][17]
• In "Park Safety", a 2010 episode of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson states that his clumsy coworker Jerry "is both the schlemiel and the schlimazel".[18]

• Schmuck (pejorative)
• Schnorrer
• List of English words of Yiddish origin