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
Lauraine	-	English (Rare)
Delaney	[də'leini]
Sabella	sə-BEL-ə	English (Rare)
Friedrich	FREED-rikh	German
JÁNos	YAH-nosh	Hungarian
Madhu	-	Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu