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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Winners and losers in slowdowns and recessions In 2019, VisualCapitalist ran a study of economic cycles going back to 1960 based on data from SPDR Americas Research.—
Bob Pisani,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2025
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Other major losers included Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, which was down more than 10%.—
Rob Wile,
NBC News,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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While less consequential for than last year’s clothing controversy involving the apparel brands Nike and Fanatics—which affected jerseys worn by players—New Era’s apparent misstep is another example of MLB’s brand taking lumps because of design decisions made outside of its purview.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
10 Mar. 2025
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The puck broke Ray’s glasses and left a massive lump on his head, but Ray didn’t miss a second of game action.—
Matthew Fairburn,
The Athletic,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Mushers gather at trailheads and parking lots for long weekends of racing, with world-champion sprinters (often huge, muscular pointers with legs a mile long) competing alongside teams of purebred Siberians and assorted mutts.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside Online,
18 Feb. 2025
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The British Ministry of Defence's answer is using the mechanical mutts to make detecting and defusing bombs safer and more efficient.—
David Szondy,
New Atlas,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In the comics, Sinestro starts off as a member of the Green Lantern Corp, eventually becoming a villain and starting his own Sinestro Corp.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
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The real villains, says Mozaffarian, are excessive amounts of refined grains, starches, and sugars, as well as salt and other preservatives, chemical additives, and contaminants from packaging.—
Sarah Boden,
NPR,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In Eli Craig’s (Tucker & Dale vs Evil) newest outing, the real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
6 Mar. 2025
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She’s costumed like a clown, but her screenplay is as confident as an antihero’s cleverest heist.—
Amy Nicholson,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Cornell University’s Department of Public & Ecosystem Health expert Jenny Bloodgood told NBC News that she’s seen a fox, a skunk, a possum and a bobcat test positive for the virus in New York State, indicating the bug could be mutating.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
27 Feb. 2025
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Medium-sized animals like skunks, bobcats and foxes also did not vanish.—
Anton Sorokin,
Smithsonian Magazine,
5 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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