A worthless, good for nothing person.
A worthless, good for nothing person.
The term ‘ne’er do well’ is of course a contraction of ‘never do well’. Ne’er has been used in that shortened form since the 13th century, notably in the North of England and in Scotland. ‘Ne’er do well’ itself originated in Scotland and an early citation of it in print is found in the Scottish poet and playwright Allan Ramsay’s A collection of Scots proverbs, 1737:
Some ha’e a hantla fauts [have many faults] , ye are only a ne’er-do-well.
Trend of ne’er do well in printed material over time
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T UV W XYZ
American Animals Australian Bible Body Colour Conflict Death Devil Dogs Emotions Euphemism Family Fashion Food French Horses ‘Jack’ Luck Money Military Music Names Nature Nautical Numbers Politics Religion Shakespeare Stupidity Entertainment Weather Women Work
Have you spotted something that needs updated on this page? We review all feedback we receive to ensure that we provide the most accurate and up to date information on phrases.