bulbenik

Alternative Spellings

bolbenik, bulbanik, bolbanik

Definitions

• One who is inept, clumsy, all thumbs, who fouls things up (Rosten) An actor "who talks as though he has a potato in his mouth"—that is, an actor who "blows" his lines, mixes them up, commits embarrassing spoonerisms, a malaprop.

Example Sentences

• And there I heard heartrending tales of a famous bulbenik (Rosten).

Languages of Origin

Yiddish

Etymology

Yiddish בולבעניק bulbenik

Who Uses This

Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

Dictionaries

The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).