can't punch one's way out of a paper bag

Be inept, as in Ask him to program the VCR? He can't punch his way out of a paper bag. This hyperbolic term for extreme ineptitude originally was an expression of contempt for a weak or cowardly boxer. [Slang; c. 1910]

See also: bag, of, out, paper, punch, way

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Sampson (1)	-	Biblical Greek
Raeburn	RAY-bərn	English (Rare)
Cicely	SIS-ə-lee	English
Iva (1)	-	Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Anneka	-	English (Rare)
Bethari	be-TAH-ree	Indonesian, Javanese