do-nothing

In the middle, it can be hard to shake the Dwight Schrute-esque caricature of a manager who was shunted into some do-nothing role where he can’t cause too much damage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

As much as Forrest is a know-nothing, except when it comes to knowing what love is, he’s also a do-nothing when it comes to acknowledging systemic wrongdoing.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2024

Whenever a company descends into dysfunction, often there’s a do-nothing board at the top.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2023

Consider, however, that Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive, has said he sets aside “puttering time” every morning before taking any calls or meetings — basically carving out a scheduled chunk of do-nothing time.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2021

Is this the dolce far niente of the Italians, the sweet do-nothing of the tropics?

From Equatorial America Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South America by Maturin Murray Ballou

And we tell the liars, deniers, and do-nothings to shove off: There’s no future in naysaying.

From The Guardian ● May 22, 2019

Winkler’s Gene Cousineau, a self-serious buffoon long used to being surrounded by weightless do-nothings, mistakes Barry’s confession for an improvised monologue.

From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2019

We associate loafing with people wasting their lives; with harried parents shaking their sleeping teenage children out of bed; with do-nothings, doing nothing.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 23, 2018

To a heckler's shout that King George is a do-nothing and should be paid no more than do-nothings who are on the Dole.

From Time Magazine Archive

I want to restore order in the matter; to reward the brave and to punish the cowards and do-nothings.

From The Abbatial Crosier or Bonaik and Septimine. A Tale of a Medieval Abbess by Eugène Sue