sad sack

sad sack

1. noun A hopelessly inept, blundering person who can't do anything right. That poor sad sack Sarah has been stuck in the same dead-end role in this company for years.
2. noun A sad, moping person, especially one who refuses to try and improve their mood or situation. Don't be such a sad sack—I know you're disappointed about missing the concert, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun tonight! He just sat there like a sad sack, sulking in the corner of the party.
3. verb To be in a sad, moping mood, especially while refusing to try and improve one's mood or situation. Usually used in the continuous tense; sometimes hyphenated. If you don't quit sad sacking back there, I'm going to turn the car around and drive us all straight back home! Bill's been sad-sacking around the office ever since he got passed over for the promotion.
See also: sack, sad
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

sad sack

A singularly inept person, as in Poor George is a hopeless sad sack. This term alludes to a cartoon character, Sad Sack, invented by George Baker in 1942 and representing a soldier in ill-fitting uniform who failed at whatever he tried to do. It was soon transferred to clumsily inept civilians.
See also: sack, sad
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

sad sack

an inept blundering person. informal, chiefly US
See also: sack, sad
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

sad sack

n. a sad person; a listless or depressed person. Tom always looks like such a sad sack.
See also: sack, sad
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

sad sack, a

A pathetically inept individual. The term comes from a cartoon character named Sad Sack, invented by Sgt. George Baker and very popular during World War II. Baker’s representation of a limp-looking soldier in ill-fitting, loose-hanging uniform, who tried to do his best but was neither smart nor lucky and consequently failed at whatever he undertook, caught on, and the name was transferred to the inept in civilian life.
See also: sad
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • sad sack, a
  • look alike
  • birdturd
  • turd
  • stumble-bumble
  • stumble-bumbles
  • angle
  • angling
References in periodicals archive
I can remember reading Sad Sack comics in Yank during the war, and then in civilian comic books later on.
Sad sack
Hemeon makes an endearingly funny sad sack, and Bonneau invests her part with impressive nervous awkwardness.
Gateway Players present whimsical 'Maine'
Really, no other word for this sad sack of a woman, desperately trying to cling on to a man who only ever wanted her around as decoration for his yachts and ego.
TIME TO POODLE OFF, SINITTA
Rising star Ryan Gosling plays ladies' man Jacob who meets a sad sack called Cal (Steve Carell) who's trying to regain his mojo with the girls after being dumped by his wife (Julianne Moore).
NEW RELEASES; DVDS
Sad Sack, a drafted Army private, was a disheveled-looking chap, with a big nose and big ears.
Remembering sad sack
ALL THIS SPOT TALK GOT ME WONDERING ABOUT ROGER SPOHN, THE SAD SACK MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT 1 PROFILED IN A PREVIOUS STORY, * SO I MET UP WITH HIM AGAIN TO CATCH UP ...
The beast that will not die: trying to stop America's seemingly unstoppable "war on drugs"
That's what happens in this film (again!) coupled with some sentimental tosh about elderly couples still being in love, the usual kooky friend of the female lead and sad sack friends of the male lead.
Failure to amuse; THE BIG PICTURE
He is a pathetic sad sack, and, worse yet, he knows it.
Let's stop harassing couples who finally commit
Stupid Crazy Love 12 Ryan Gosling stars again as ladies' man Jacob who meets a sad sack called Cal (Steve Carell) and schools him in the art of seduction.
three to see
(a) "Old Bill" (WWl); (b) "Herbie"; (c) The Sad Sack; (d) Colonel Blimp; (e) Willie & Joe (Gen Patton tried to get these suppressed!); (f) Pilot Officer Prune; (g) Beetle Bailey (Sgt Snorkel, Gen Halftrack, et al)
Into the Viper's Nest
Or what would he have thought about the British plane which made an emergency landing in Italy because some moron - almost certainly the type of sad sack who makes hoax fire calls because he likes to watch the big red engines - had scrawled a bomb threat on a sick bag?
When all else fails, wheel out Churchill
He plays Jacob, a smooth ladies' man who passes on his wisdom to help sad sack Cal (Steve Carell) bounce back from his marriage ending.
BoxOffice; We rate the country's top 10 films on at the cinema this week
Answers: 1) (a) Colonel Blimp; (b) Herbie; (c) Willie & Joe; (d) Old Bill; (e) Sad Sack. 2) General Andrew G.
At Ease Military trivia & humour
Bilandic's nanobudget comedy "Happy Life" plays like a poor schlub's "High Fidelity," centered around Keith, a 35-year-old, music-loving sad sack faithful not to the eclectic but to the outmoded techno of the 1990s.
Happy Life
The rising star plays a smooth ladies' man called Jacob who meets sad sack Cal (Steve Carell).
It's one to pay bills