paluka

palooka

1. A foolish, clumsy, inept person. Some palooka has been knocking stuff off the shelves as they go by with their shopping cart. Oh, look what you did, you big palooka—you broke it!
2. An unskilled or incompetent professional boxer. That palooka ain't gonna last a minute with me in the ring, let alone twelve rounds!

paluka

1. A foolish, clumsy, inept person. Some paluka has been knocking stuff off the shelves as they go by with their shopping cart. Oh, look what you did, you big paluka—you broke it!
2. An unskilled or incompetent professional boxer. That paluka ain't gonna last a minute with me in the ring, let alone twelve rounds!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

palooka

and paluka (pəˈlukə)
n. a stupid person; an unskilled prizefighter; any mediocre person. (Also a term of address. From the name of the comic-strip prizefighter Joe Palooka.) Tell that stupid palooka to sit down and shut up.

paluka

verb
See palooka
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

palooka

A stupid or a clumsy oaf, and by extension, an incompetent prizefighter. Joe Palooka, the heavyweight boxing hero of Ham Fisher's cartoon strip that ran from 1921 to 1984, was anything but inept, but even his skills and the strip's popularity couldn't save the word from its negative meaning. Calling someone a “big palooka,” unless said in a jovial and friendly context, isn't likely to win you any fans and may win you a bloody nose. The word may have been a corruption of “Pollack,” the pejorative term for Polish people.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • palooka
  • meatheaded
  • muscleheaded
  • dickweed
  • backassed
  • zod
  • some mothers do have them
References in periodicals archive
Adam Paluka, EMSA spokesman in the Tulsa area, said that city's opt-out system is the same as Oklahoma City's now, although the monthly payment is a little higher.
When asked whether the opt-out system might have an effect on participation, Paluka said only that Tulsa historically has a higher rate.
OKC reports steady participation in EMSAcare program
Elenco: Ernesto Alterio (tio Beto), Natalia Oreiro (Cristina/Charo), Cesar Troncoso (Daniel/Horacio), Teo Gutierrez Moreno (Juan/Ernesto), Victoria Paluka (Maria), Cristina Banegas (Amalia).
Infancia clandestina or the will of faith/Infancia clandestina ou a vontade da fe
According to the complaint, Tabone and Savino allegedly received bribes "including a total of $40,000 in cash payments and a promise of a total of $40,000 more in cash payments" in exchange for doing their best to obtain the approvals -- commonly referred to as Wilson Paluka certificates -- from their respective Republican county committees that Smith would need to gain access to the GOP ballot line.
Smith allegedly told the federal agent and cooperating witness on March 21 that he was concerned that Tabone and Savino were stalling in order to receive more money before issuing the Wilson Paluka certificates, and directed them not to pay them any more money until Tabone and Savino "close[d] the a[bar] deal," according to the complaint.
New York Politicians' Arrests In Election-Rigging Scheme Point To Larger Culture Of Corruption
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Douglas Buchholz of Lancaster, N.H., and Kelsang Drime of Eugene; a daughter, Diane Wittaker of Olympia; a sister, Joan Paluka of Arlington, Wash.; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
OBITUARIES
According to director Paluka, even some limited development of this pistol-toting Daughter of the Confederacy ended up somewhere on Universal Pictures' cutting room floor because it slowed down the film's movement.
(9) In their 1998 DVD commentary track Alan Paluka argues "that's where the casting of Brock is very good, because he's a very sexual image which really helped with the story," and in response Bob Mulligan offers: "I think what also works--and what impressed me about Brock when I first met him--is that he has a strong African-American face."
Baptizing Boo: religion in the cinematic Southern Gothic
The whispering man saluting, what did you say you big paluka? From this distance, can't quite decipher it my little Love Death.
Traveling light, from 'The Bay of Angels.' (fiction excerpt)
A couple years ago, Julia Paluka began kicking around the idea of becoming a Certified Property Manager--a move she believed could only help her career managing apartments in Denver.
"There was a whole world of knowledge out there I knew would help me do my job better," said Paluka, 39, and now a CPM Candidate.
But as a working property manager spending more than 50 hours a week keeping up with a portfolio of roughly 250,000 square feet, Paluka was hard-pressed to find enough time for the eight college-caliber courses she would need to earn her CPM designation through the Institute of Real Estate Management.
To solve her problem of not having enough time for continuing education, Paluka resorted to taking the institute's online courses.
By enrolling in an online course, Paluka became part of the ever-increasing number of people around the world who are turning to online education as a modern solution to a modern problem--making time amid busy professional and personal lives for the education necessary to advance their careers.
Learning from a distance: online learning provides opportunities for busy property managers trying to continue their education in spite of packed schedules
Cristina Banegas, Douglas Simon, Mayana Neiva, Violeta Palukas.
Clandestine Childhood/Infancia Clandestina