good-for-nought

A good-for-nought spends his days lounging on the sofa.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A worthless or useless person: "good-for-nought" refers to an individual who is considered to have no value, merit, or ability to contribute positively to society.

2. Adjective:

   • Having no worth or usefulness: "good-for-nought" describes a person or thing that is considered completely ineffective, lazy, or incapable of achieving anything of value.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • That man is a complete good-for-nought; he never works and only causes trouble. (A person with no useful qualities.)
  • The landlord called the tenant a good-for-nought for failing to pay rent. (An insult implying worthlessness.)

• Adjective:

  • He is a good-for-nought employee who does nothing all day. (An employee with no work ethic.)
  • That good-for-nought machine broke down again. (A machine that is useless or unreliable.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be a good-for-nought": to be considered completely useless by others.

  • She was labeled a good-for-nought by her family because she refused to work. (She was judged as having no value.)

• "good-for-nought behavior": actions that are lazy, irresponsible, or unproductive.

  • His good-for-nought behavior got him fired from three jobs. (His actions showed a lack of effort or responsibility.)

Variants and Related Words

• Good-for-nothing (n/adj): a more common variant with the same meaning; "good-for-nought" is an older or less frequent form.

  • Don't trust that good-for-nothing; he'll steal your money. (A person with no moral worth.)

• Nought (n): an archaic or literary term for "nothing" (from Old English nāwiht).

  • All his efforts came to nought. (His efforts produced no result.)

Synonyms

• Worthless: having no real value or usefulness.
• Useless: not fulfilling any useful purpose.
• Lazy: unwilling to work or use energy.
• Idle: not active or productive.

Related Idioms

• To be a dead loss: to be completely useless or unhelpful.

  • That employee is a dead loss; he never finishes anything. (Similar to "good-for-nought".)

• To not be worth one's salt: to be incompetent or not deserving of one's pay.

  • If you can't do the job, you're not worth your salt. (A person lacking ability.)

Etymology Note

• Good-for-nought combines "good" (meaning "suitable" or "of value") with "for nought" (meaning "for nothing"). The phrase literally means "good for nothing." The variant "good-for-nought" preserves the archaic spelling "nought" for "nothing," giving it a slightly old-fashioned or literary tone.