Schlemihl

[KXX4493553 at aol.com]

In einer eMail vom 10.08.00 05:16:32 (MEZ) - Mitteleurop. Sommerzeit schreibt 
davemarc at panix.com:

<< Get ready for a paradigm shift, KXX.  According to Chapman's American 
Slang,
 it means "A stupid person; fool; oaf; esp, a naive person often victimized."
 You know--like a schmendrick.
  >>
Okay, originally it's a German word, "Schlemihl" has come out of fashion in 
the meantime, but it means in German just the opposite, or as another 
meaning, ein "Taugenichts", "good-for-nothing", someone who doesn't want to 
work or to take "normal" roles in society. In some way, it's a romantic motif 
of the 19th century.
kwp