zilch

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See also: Zilch

English

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Etymology

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Probably from Joe Zilch, a placeholder name (compare John Doe) used by Nunnally Johnson in his column in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1923; in turn from Joe Zilch, an unseen character referenced in comedian Frank Tinney's stage routine.[1] Compare the rare German surname Zilch.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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zilch (countable and uncountable, plural zilches)

  1. (countable, informal, archaic) A nobody: a person who is worthless in importance or character.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nonentity
    • 1931 July, Ballyhoo, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 1:
      President Henry P. Zilch. Chairman of the Board Charles D. Zilch. Treasurer Otto Zilch.
    • 1932 February, Ballyhoo, Vol. II, No. 1:
      Bernarr MacZilch [for Bernarr Macfadden] and His Dynamic-Hooey System... The WEAKLING Who Became 'The World's Most Perfect Ass!'
    • 1940, Lester V. Berrey et al., The American Thesaurus of Slang, §184:
      Dinglegoofer, Mr. Zilch, indefinite nicknames.
  2. (uncountable, informal) Nothing, zero.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nothing
    Her search for decent home-made winter clothes came up with zilch, so she had to get imported stuff.
    • 1991, Judith Arnold, One Good Turn, page 104:
      "If the homeless wind up with zilch," James retorted, veiling his indignation behind a malevolent smile, "it's because they deserve zilch."

Translations

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Adjective

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zilch (not comparable)

  1. (informal, chiefly US) No, zero, non-existent.
    • 1966, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
      Zilch, adj. Nothing, zero...
    • 1977 February 3, The Telegraph, page 14:
      ...gorgeous faces but zilch talent...

Verb

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zilch (third-person singular simple present zilches, present participle zilching, simple past and past participle zilched)

  1. (informal, US sports) To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.
    • 1969, University of South Dakota, Current Slang:
      We zilched them on that rubber.
    • 1990 April 2, USA Today, page 20:
      My favorite film of 1989 got zilched... That would be Field of Dreams.

Synonyms

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References

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  1. ^ Nancy Friedman (August 30, 2021) "Word of the week: Zilch" Fritinancy