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It means a person who never got it together in his life, a sap for whom things never seemed to work out. Closely related to a "schlimazel" ... a person beset at every turn with bad luck. In the Seinfeld ensemble, George Constanza was one part schlemiel and one part schlimazel. Surprisingly, the word is a biblical name. See B'midbar (Numbers) 1:6. "Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai" was a top man in the tribe of Simeon during the 40-year trek through the desert. The Torah doesn't recount any details of his personal story, but the Midrash describes a string of sad experiences that befell him, and his name became a symbol for unproductive life, in Jewish folklore.

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