galoot
noun/ɡəˈluːt/
Etymology From Quranic Arabic جالُوت (jālūt, pronounced galūt in Egyptian Arabic), proper name equivalent to English Goliath, giant warrior of the ancient Philistine ethnicity; cf. connotations of derogatory uses of English Philistine. Doublet of goliath.
1
Derogatory A clumsy or uncouth person.
- “I talk like a galoot when I get talking to feemale^([sic]) girls and I can’t lay my tongue to anything that sounds right.”1901, Frank Norris, The Octopus, published 2008, page 293:
- “Now there was an ugly galoot whose name isn’t worth mentioning.[…]”1901, Winston Churchill, The Crisis, published 2008, page 190:
2 more examples
- On TV and in movies and magazine ads, the image of fathers over the past generation evolved from the stern, sturdy father who knew best to a helpless Homer Simpson, or some ham-handed galoot confounded by the prospect of changing a diaper.1993, Time, volume 141, numbers 18–26, page 53:
- “So if someone does something I do not agree with, I could call him a galoot and it would be okay?” “Something like that, if you were friends.” “Are galoots always men?”2012, John C. Gallagher, The Blood-Dimmed Tide Is Loosed, page 113: