Originally a Hebrew word, popularized in English by the cartoonist Herb Gardner. A `sad sack,' a loser, a person who can't make any thing or any situation work right for him or her; unassertive, shy, timid. Reference: `The Joys of Yiddish,' by Leo Rosten. His definition is "An innocuous, ineffectual, weak, helpless or hapless unfortunate." There are other spellings also.
The poor little fourth-grader was such a nebbish that she peed in her pants, rather than speaking up and asking the teacher for a hall pass to go to the bathroom.
by Chuck Hastings June 29, 2003
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Get the nerdist mug.A nebbish is an ineffectual person, someone timid, submissive, weak, helpless or hapless, a nonentity. He's unlucky, but mainly because he’s a loser right through to the core.
It’s an adjective formed from one of the most characteristic of Yiddish words. It was originally "nebech". In Yiddish it was originally an interjection, roughly meaning “You poor thing!”. Americans had trouble saying this word when it first appeared in the English language at the end of the nineteenth century, and they changed it to nebbish, with nebbishy as the much less common adjective.
It’s an adjective formed from one of the most characteristic of Yiddish words. It was originally "nebech". In Yiddish it was originally an interjection, roughly meaning “You poor thing!”. Americans had trouble saying this word when it first appeared in the English language at the end of the nineteenth century, and they changed it to nebbish, with nebbishy as the much less common adjective.
Sarah: "He just sits there, and every time I make a suggestion, he goes with it, but mostly because he doesn't understand what I'm saying and has no dang opinion for himself!"
Marie: "Gosh, he's so nebbish."
Marie: "Gosh, he's so nebbish."
by Wone1568 April 28, 2011
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Nerissa is always so nice, today she's been too nice... What sort of diabolical plan is she stirring up, world domination or how to rob a tight security bank!? This is giving me Nerissaphobia!
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