Literary notes about gormless (AI summary)
In literature, "gormless" is employed to characterize individuals as foolish or lacking in faculties, creating a vivid image of simplicity and ineptitude. In one instance, it is used with a dismissive tone to describe a scab in a derogatory manner, emphasizing a sense of mockery towards the person's incompetence [1]. In another, the term surfaces in self-deprecatory speech, where a character refers to himself as a "gormless chap" to underscore his unsuitability for marriage, thereby spotlighting his self-awareness of his perceived shortcomings [2].
- sawney: silly, gormless scab: see blackleg shout:
— from Children of the Bush by Henry Lawson - Martha'll only wed with trouble when she weds a gormless chap like me, and I don't favour it.
— from Three Lancashire Plays: The Game; The Northerners; Zack by Harold Brighouse
