Palooka
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A stupid, oafish or clumsy person. US, slang
- 2 a second-rate prize fighter wordnet
- 3 Someone incompetent or untalented. US
"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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
Used in the US since the 1920s, originally primarily of boxers. Popularized by Jack Conway of Variety, 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).
Related phrases
More for "palooka"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.