schlubby

English

WOTD – 18 May 2019

Etymology

From schlub +‎ -y; schlub is derived from Yiddish זשלאָב (zhlob), perhaps from Polish żłób (“manger, trough; furrow, large groove in the soil”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʃlʌbi/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃlʌbi/, /ˈʃlə-/
(Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈʃlʊbi/
Rhymes: -ʌbi
Hyphenation: schlub‧by

Adjective

schlubby (comparative schlubbier or more schlubby, superlative schlubbiest or most schlubby)

(chiefly US, informal) Clumsy, oafish, or socially awkward; unattractive or unkempt.
- 1974, Genevieve Stuttaford, “A Short Review of the Magazine Reviewers”, in Publishers Weekly, volume 206, number 19, New York, N.Y.: F[rederick] Leypoldt, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38, column 1:
  It's a wasted review copy, sending “schlubby” nonfiction to Eliot Fremont-Smith at New York magazine or a book by William Buckley to Rolling Stone […]
- 1992 June 29 – July 6, Phoebe Eaton, “The Cool World: Table Dancing, Slalom Shots, and Other Strange Rites of the Night”, in Edward Kosner, editor, New York, volume 25, number 26, New York, N.Y.: K=III Magazine Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 50:
  Except for Barry Diller eating steak and Diane Von Furstenberg picking at his frites, the room at the top is still empty at 9:30 p.m. On the ground floor, the chic and the schlubby are slowly rendering the bar invisible.
- 2003 September 15, Michael Wolff, “Candidate.com”, in New York‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: New York Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 January 2017:
  In fact, the Internet, for political if not commercial causes, turns out to be a way to efficiently reach people whose very engagement (even overengagement) separates them most from ordinary zhlubby citizens.
- 2005, Greg Behrendt, Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt, “The Fifth Commandment: Don’t Wear Your Breakup out into the World”, in It’s Called a Breakup because It’s Broken: The Smart Girl’s Breakup Buddy, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN, part 2 (The Breakover), page 238:
  [P]ut on your schlubbiest clothes, dab on some pimple cream, and go to the grocery store. […] Don't start your days in the hole. Besides, you never know when the new Mr. Right will come along. …
- 2008, Lynn Phillips, “Self-loathing Dabbles in the Arts”, in Self-loathing for Beginners, Santa Monica, Calif.: Santa Monica Press, →ISBN, part IV (The Self-loathing Elite), page 170:
  Just thinking about ballet makes most people feel schlubbier and more sluglike when they shuffle out of their bedrooms in the morning or slide under the barstool at night.
- 2008 February 10, Lynn Hirschberg, “Breaking through”, in The New York Times‎^[2], archived from the original on 12 May 2011:
  Although [Seth] Rogen had his artistic breakthrough with “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” two years ago, he achieved mass appeal this year as a funny, lovable, shlubby every-guy who won the beautiful blonde.
- 2009 February 4, Brad Stone, “In campaign wars, Apple still has Microsoft’s number”, in The New York Times‎^[3], archived from the original on 5 January 2019:
  Apple’s ads promote what you can do with an iPhone or iPod, or show the comedian John Hodgman as a schlubby PC guy being outfoxed by the actor Justin Long as hip Mac guy.

Alternative forms

shlubby
zhlubby (rare)

Related terms

schlub

Translations

clumsy, oafish, or socially awkward

unattractive or unkempt — see unattractive,‎ unkempt

References

^ “schlubby”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022; “schlub”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.