Schlemiel

Schlemiel (; sometimes spelled shlemiel) is a Yiddish term meaning "inept/incompetent person" or "fool". It is a common archetype in Ashkenazi Jewish humor, and so-called "schlemiel jokes" depict the schlemiel falling into unfortunate situations.

==Meaning== thumb|Peter Schlemihl The inept schlemiel is often presented alongside the unlucky schlimazel. A Yiddish saying explains that "a schlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup and a schlimazel is the person it lands on". The schlemiel is similar to the schmuck but, as stated in a 2010 essay in The Forward, a schmuck can improve himself while "a schlemiel, a schlimazel and a schmendrik are irredeemably what they are".