Are you looking for an expression to use to describe someone going nowhere in life? You could use “ne’er do well.” This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
The expression “ne’er do well” refers to a person that can’t get ahead in life. It’s a way of calling someone a “failure to launch” or defining someone that seems to always fall into self-destructive behavior that gets them nowhere in life.
For example, you could say a drug addict living in a tent on the corner is a ne’er do well. There is no chance of them coming back to normal society, and if they do, it’s going to be something of a miracle to keep them on the right path.
Example Usage
“That kid is a real ne’er do well, he’s going nowhere in life, and it’s only a matter of time before he goes to jail if he keeps this up.”
“Clive is a ne’er do well in life. The moment he has money, he’s spending it down at the casino, and then he wonders why he can’t pay his rent.”
“Leave him alone. He’s just a ne’er do well that’s going nowhere, don’t let him convince you of anything.”
“You known Jim, he’s a ne’er do well at anything, and that guy is going to be out on the street when his landlord finds out he skipped on the rent again.”
Origin
The origin of the expression "ne'er do well" comes from 13th century North England and Scotland. The earliest mention of the phrase in print comes from the playwright Allan Ramsay and his work, "A collection of Scots proverbs," published in 1737.
"Some ha'e a hantla fauts [have many faults] , ye are only a ne'er-do-well."
The expression "ne'er-do-well" was also a common saying in the early nineteenth-century Australasian penal colonies as a way to demean Irish and British men and boys with undesirable personalities and demeanors.
These men were unable to gain recognition in normal society. As a result, they went to the penal colonies to rehabilitate themselves. The public would also refer to these men and boys as "remittance men" because they relied on support from their families, and they would use it to buy alcohol and women.
The term would start to appear in travel journals in the mid-nineteenth century. George Hepburn used the expression in his diary writings in 1851 during his voyage to the city of Dunedin.
Phrases Similar to Ne'er Do Well
- Loser.
- Bum.
- Degenerate.
Phrases Opposite to Ne'er Do Well
- A shining success.
- Doing well.
What is the Correct Saying?
- Ne’er do well.
Ways People May Say Ne'er Do Well Incorrectly
Using the phrase to tell people that you never do anything well might be the technically correct use of the term, but it is incorrect. The expression describes a person's actions and prospects. Someone that is not doing well financially, socially, or has failing health whenever you meet with them suits the expression.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Ne'er Do Well
You can use the expression "ne'er do well" to describe someone down on their luck in life, and you don't expect them to make a comeback. It also represents a vagrant or bum or someone that's wasting the opportunities they have in life.
It's also useful for describing someone that seems always to have things go wrong for them or someone that doesn't know how to manage money in their life. Your cousin could be a "ne'er do well" because he's in and out of prison, or the guy on the street corner could be a "ne'er do well" because society left him behind.