as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
I wish he wouldn't bring over here that bunch of palookas he calls his friends
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Recent Examples of palooka
One year after the Academy bafflingly ignored his work in Sideways, Giamatti finally scored his first Oscar nomination for his purely entertaining performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in Ron Howard’s proudly old-fashioned Depression-era palooka drama.
—
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen.
—Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018
The jokes (by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser) have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2017
Without it, director Phillipe Falardeau's film would be a fairly unremarkable, fairly familiar ride, telling the tale of a big-hearted but undisciplined palooka whose biggest hurdle in life is his own bad judgment.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 17 May 2017
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen.
—Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018
The jokes (by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser) have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2017
Without it, director Phillipe Falardeau's film would be a fairly unremarkable, fairly familiar ride, telling the tale of a big-hearted but undisciplined palooka whose biggest hurdle in life is his own bad judgment.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 17 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for palooka
Noun
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The hulk of metal moved silently through space, high above the blue Earth.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
13 Feb. 2025
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Having boy hulk Matthew Knies at the net front, to retrieve pucks and be a pain for the defence, is one positive step that’s been working.—
James Mirtle,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Coaching hire winners and losers: In all, seven teams made leadership changes at the top.—
Jim Reineking,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
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No more participation trophies for Bill Plaschke! Los Angeles’ lovable loser nailed it by predicting the Eagles’ big win, ending his losing tradition that envied the Benoit Benjamin Clippers of the 1980s!—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Similar to Milla’s story on the show, Ainscough was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma in 2008 following a biopsy of lumps from her left arm.—
Kelsie Gibson,
People.com,
6 Feb. 2025
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These crab cakes were not full of jumbo lump, but had claw and backfin meat and sold for ten cents.—
Jacques Kelly,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The article begins: Heather Massey brought Ladybird to the veterinarian when the 9-year-old mutt began having seizures.—
The Learning Network,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025
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In Vermont, a fast-acting witness spotted a struggling 7-year-old mutt in trouble and waded into an icy river up to his waist to reunite the dog with its grateful owner.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This shortcoming extends to its assortment of villains who, despite including celebrity appearances like AEW wrestler Samoa Joe, fail to leave a memorable impression beyond being yet another obstacle on the way to the end credits.—
Isaiah Colbert,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2025
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Ant-Man met a villain named Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania who battled multiple versions of himself from different timelines.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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While the aforementioned gamer creep threatens to rob us of silly confrontational television, there’s been one thing stopping them and making season three entertaining: The Traitors picked this season are dysfunctional clowns.—
Alex Abad-Santos,
Vox,
6 Feb. 2025
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There was a good joke buried in that conceit: maybe only clowns spend as much time in the makeup chair as the drag artists that have provided Roan the inspiration for her primary look.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In the last few years, perhaps after an adaptive mutation, bird flu has jumped to a wide number of mammal species, including seals, bears, skunks, foxes, cougars, bobcats, dolphins and even a polar bear.—
Karen Weintraub,
USA TODAY,
7 Feb. 2025
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Spera said the animals included rabbits, chickens, a duck, a skunk, a dove and two cats.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near palooka
Cite this Entry
“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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