be a ne'er-do-well
常用作be动词后的表语，带明显贬义。
Everyone in town knew he was a ne'er-do-well.
镇上的每个人都知道他是个游手好闲的人。
没有经济来源的人；懒惰无用的人；游手好闲者；无能或毫无价值的人；无所事事的人。；不务正业的人；流氓；无用的人；懒汉
An idle, worthless person; a good-for-nothing; a rogue.
没有经济来源的人；懒惰无用的人；游手好闲者；无能或毫无价值的人；无所事事的人。
A person without a means of support; an idle, worthless person; a loafer; a person who is ineffectual, unsuccessful, or completely lacking in merit; a good-for-nothing.
不务正业的人；流氓
A person who is up to no good; a rogue.
The old man called his lazy nephew a ne'er-do-well and refused to lend him any money.
老人称他懒惰的侄子为无用的人，并拒绝借给他任何钱。
用法提示：名词，指懒惰且无价值的人，作宾语。
Everyone in the village knew he was a ne'er-do-well who spent his days drinking and gambling.
村里每个人都知道他是个整天喝酒赌博的懒汉。
用法提示：名词，指游手好闲的人，作表语。
Despite his family's wealth, he turned out to be a ne'er-do-well, never holding a job for more than a month.
尽管他家境富裕，他却成了一个无用的人，从未有一份工作干超过一个月。
用法提示：名词，指无用的、不务正业的人，作表语。
常用作be动词后的表语，带明显贬义。
Everyone in town knew he was a ne'er-do-well.
镇上的每个人都知道他是个游手好闲的人。
call后接宾语，再接名词作宾语补足语，单数前需加a。
She called her ex-husband a ne'er-do-well.
她称前夫是个无用之人。
复数形式为ne'er-do-wells，常与a bunch of、a group of等量词短语连用。
A bunch of ne'er-do-wells were hanging around the corner.
一群游手好闲的人在那个拐角处闲荡。
grammar · medium
易错句子He lost his job and now he is ne'er-do-well.
正确表达He lost his job and now he is a ne'er-do-well.
ne'er-do-well 是可数名词，单数形式作表语时前面必须有冠词 a/an。汉语名词没有冠词，学习者常直接把裸名词放到 be 动词后，英语里这种泛指“一个……的人”必须加 a。
grammar · medium
易错句子The two brothers are both ne'er-do-well.
正确表达The two brothers are both ne'er-do-wells.
这个复合名词的复数只把 -s 加在整个词末尾，写成 ne'er-do-wells，而不是保留单数形式。主语是 two brothers、表语指两个人时，英语要求可数名词用复数，与汉语“都是游手好闲的人”不标数的情况不同。
grammar · medium
易错句子Everyone calls him a never-do-well because he never works.
正确表达Everyone calls him a ne'er-do-well because he never works.
标准拼写是 ne'er-do-well：ne'er 是 never 的缩略形式，用撇号代替 v，中间不能把缩略展开成 never。写成 never-do-well 不是被认可的变体拼写。
loafer 只强调不爱干活、到处闲逛，语气较轻，不含 ne'er-do-well 那种“一事无成、毫无价值”的道德指责；此外 loafer 还有“乐福鞋”这一义项，ne'er-do-well 没有。说某人不成器、没出息，用 ne'er-do-well；单纯说他懒散闲逛，用 loafer。
slacker 是现代口语词，指该出力时偷懒、逃避工作或学业等责任，未必长期无业；ne'er-do-well 更书面、口气更重，指一贯不务正业、不成器的人。slacker 多指一时或某一方面的懈怠，ne'er-do-well 近乎对其为人和人生的评判。
rogue 侧重不诚实、爱惹事或危险，与是否勤劳无关；ne'er-do-well 侧重不务正业、一事无成，未必有恶意。形容“没出息、游手好闲”用 ne'er-do-well；形容“奸诈、使坏”用 rogue。另外 rogue 还能作定语形容词（如 rogue trader），ne'er-do-well 一般只作名词。
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