Noun: ne'er-do-well 'nehr-doo,wel
- An idle, lazy person who avoids work
"The manager fired the ne'er-do-well who was always slacking on the job";
- goldbrick [N. Amer, informal], goof-off [N. Amer, informal], good-for-nothing, no-account [N. Amer], good-for-nought
Derived forms: ne'er-do-wells
Type of: bum [N. Amer, informal], deadbeat [informal], do-nothing [informal], idler, layabout [informal], loafer, shirker [informal], slacker [informal]
Encyclopedia: Ne'er-do-well