Definitons

I read the word nebbish THREE times in one issue of the New Yorker. Twice, referring to Woody Allen and once to Steve Carrell.


Nebbish: adj. (Yiddish) A timid unfortunate simpleton

Feckless: adj. Not fit to assume responsibility, generally incompetent and ineffectual

Supplicant: noun Petitioner: one praying humbly for something; "a suppliant for her favors"

Sychophant: noun A person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

Incidentally, if you haven't, you must read The Professor and the Mad Man by Simon Winchester, the amazing story of the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary. I know it sounds like it has the interest level of drying paint, but trust me on this one.