jonah

jonah — noun

1. someone whose presence is thought to cause trouble or failure for the people aro

1.名詞C2
釋義

someone whose presence is thought to cause trouble or failure for the people around them.

例句

The other sailors called Hamza a jonah after three boats sank on his watch.

called someone a jonah for repeated misfortune

Apinya joked that she was the team jonah, since they lost every match she watched.

team jonah: one blamed for the group's bad luck

同義詞
  • jinx

    more common and global; a jonah is the older British term

  • hoodoo

    informal; often used of an object or a losing streak

反義詞
  • lucky charm

    a person or thing believed to bring good fortune instead

用法筆記

Chiefly British and old-fashioned, drawn from the biblical sailor blamed for a storm. The label is superstitious rather than literal, so it is usually spoken half in jest.

常見錯誤

He had bad jonah at the casino.
He had bad luck at the casino.
💡a jonah is the unlucky person, not the luck itself.