1
as in palooka
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Recent Examples of stumblebum
As opposed to palookas and has-beens and tin cans and stumblebums, a player who got waived departed with his dignity intact.
—
Joe Queenan, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2018
The physicians lining up with Teirstein are not a bunch of stumblebums afraid of a few tests.
—Kurt Eichenwald, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2015
From the mid-1960s through the early ’70s, my prime rooting years, the Yankees were a team of stumblebums not even redeemed by charm.
—James Traub, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2017
Gerald Ford, for all his stumblebum image, was a Yale Law School graduate and veteran of legislative details.
—James Fallows, The Atlantic, 20 July 2017
Joe Queenan, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2018
The physicians lining up with Teirstein are not a bunch of stumblebums afraid of a few tests.
—Kurt Eichenwald, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2015
From the mid-1960s through the early ’70s, my prime rooting years, the Yankees were a team of stumblebums not even redeemed by charm.
—James Traub, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2017
Gerald Ford, for all his stumblebum image, was a Yale Law School graduate and veteran of legislative details.
—James Fallows, The Atlantic, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumblebum
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The Japanese slugger was introduced before each at-bat to loud roars that continued until a few seconds before the pitch, when the crowd went into a silent trance that’s normally reserved for events like Wimbledon or the Masters.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
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The slugger hasn't hit over .200 in a single season since 2019.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Paris is the coy Daris (Arya Grace Gaston), and the doomed hero Achilles has become the grim-faced Trojan running back Keeley (Erin Treadway, in boxer braids and golden work boots), who refuses to take the field after Johnny utters a fatal insult.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
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The boxer looked thrilled to walk the carpet with his future wife, giving Leerdam affectionate kisses and showing some PDA on the carpet.—
Natasha Dye,
People.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In the next scene, the boy is no longer dressed like a prizefighter, but in street clothes with a teddy bear sticking out of his backpack, embracing his parents.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
People.com,
7 Feb. 2025
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Buffalo this year was the prizefighter dropping his gloves, sticking out his chin and daring any of three opponents to land a haymaker.—
Tim Graham,
The Athletic,
7 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Not candlelight dinners for two old duffers plodding along, but an act of kindness so needed, especially during rough times.—
Bulletin Board,
Twin Cities,
6 Oct. 2024
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Plenty a duffer who opposed the invasion of Iraq and the privatization of Social Security has gone on to invoke the line in admiring jest.—
Ben McGrath,
The New Yorker,
29 July 2024
Noun
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He was swept up in the swirl of decade-defining events surrounding Muhammad Ali as well as Joe Frazier and other high-wattage pugilists of the 1970s.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
22 Mar. 2025
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The true-life sports biopic unleashes Leo as Alice, the loud, over-the-top matriarch of a large Boston family and manager mom to Micky Ward, a championship boxing contender trained by his drug-addict pugilist half-brother Dicky.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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While quiet luxury is still holding its ground, with comfort sandals taking on an achingly chic pragmatism, other trends are swinging in the opposite direction — from nostalgic gladiators and clogs to snake prints slithering in as the new neutral.—
Laura Lajiness Kaupke,
refinery29.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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Bond shows how professional and trade associations empowered bakers, gladiators, charioteers, and the like to wield their leverage—for example, by withholding their labor—in pursuit of improved conditions.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Heather Frost shared footage of her pug Gus's reaction to meeting her son in a video posted to her TikTok account heather.frosty.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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Crappy Christmas lights blinked overhead, and a tiny pug wheezed on a rug by the register.—
Bryan Washington,
The New Yorker,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumblebum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumblebum. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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