klutz
a clumsy person
TRANSLATION
klutz = der Tollpatsch, der Trottel --- GOOGLE INDEX klutz: approximately 4,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Even better is the fact that it uses wireless sensors, which for a home improvement KLUTZ like me, seemed perfect.
(The Gadgeteer)
---
I work out a lot and I do yoga and I do Pilates and I'm kind of athletic. I've taken dance classes, but I'm also just a total KLUTZ.
(American actress Heather Graham)
(The Gadgeteer)
---
I work out a lot and I do yoga and I do Pilates and I'm kind of athletic. I've taken dance classes, but I'm also just a total KLUTZ.
(American actress Heather Graham)
Did you
know?
klutz
noun, American/Canadian slang
- a clumsy or stupid person
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
Like all languages, American English is a direct reflection of its people and its history. A diverse country like the United States naturally developed a diverse language with influences from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. This variety is also evident on regional basis. The Cajun and Creole dialects were influenced by French settlers and west African slaves for instance. The middle of the country still reflects its European and Scandinavian heritage. The west and southwest is peppered with Spanish influences from the millions of Mexican immigrants.
The northeast part of the country, particularly the New York/New Jersey region, is melting pot of linguistic influences in itself, but a key one is Yiddish. Thanks to the huge wave of Jewish immigrants who came to New York in the first half of the 20th century, American English has been enriched with many words of Yiddish origin, like klutz.
Klutz stems "klots," Yiddish for a clumsy person or a blockhead (klots literally means a block or lump), which further stems from the German "Klotz," a wooden block or a clump of something, or a fool or oaf in a figurative sense.
Klutz is more often than not used in the sense of a physically clumsy person, such as someone who tends to trip easily when walking or a person who has the habit of dropping things. It can also be applied in the sense of "mentally clumsy" however, such as someone who acts or says something foolish.
---
SYNONYMS
bungler, clumsy person, butterfingers, dolt, dullard, lummox, oaf
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"He keeps spilling coffee on his tie. What a klutz!"
noun, American/Canadian slang
- a clumsy or stupid person
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
Like all languages, American English is a direct reflection of its people and its history. A diverse country like the United States naturally developed a diverse language with influences from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. This variety is also evident on regional basis. The Cajun and Creole dialects were influenced by French settlers and west African slaves for instance. The middle of the country still reflects its European and Scandinavian heritage. The west and southwest is peppered with Spanish influences from the millions of Mexican immigrants.
The northeast part of the country, particularly the New York/New Jersey region, is melting pot of linguistic influences in itself, but a key one is Yiddish. Thanks to the huge wave of Jewish immigrants who came to New York in the first half of the 20th century, American English has been enriched with many words of Yiddish origin, like klutz.
Klutz stems "klots," Yiddish for a clumsy person or a blockhead (klots literally means a block or lump), which further stems from the German "Klotz," a wooden block or a clump of something, or a fool or oaf in a figurative sense.
Klutz is more often than not used in the sense of a physically clumsy person, such as someone who tends to trip easily when walking or a person who has the habit of dropping things. It can also be applied in the sense of "mentally clumsy" however, such as someone who acts or says something foolish.
---
SYNONYMS
bungler, clumsy person, butterfingers, dolt, dullard, lummox, oaf
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"He keeps spilling coffee on his tie. What a klutz!"
