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The term ne'er-do-well was used in the nineteenth-century Australasian colonies to denote young British and Irish men seen as undesirable. These men were typically thought to be the younger sons of wealthy families who had somehow failed to fulfil their potential, so they were sent to the colonies to 'improve' themselves.
A ne'er-do-well is a good-for-nothing person. Ne'er-do-well may also refer to: The Ne'er-do-Weel, an 1878 play by W. S. Gilbert, revived soon afterwards as The Vagabond; The Ne'er-Do-Well, a 1911 novel by Rex Beach, adapted for film several times in the silent era; The Ne'er-Do-Well, a 1916 American silent adventure crime drama film
Passengers explained the term to me. They said that dissipated ne'er-do-wells belonging to important families in England and Canada were not cast off by their people while there was any hope of reforming them, but when that last hope perished at last, the ne'er-do-well was sent abroad to get him out of the way.
Julia Sullivan, a mother of eight grown children, had been stabbed in the abdomen by her husband, a drunk and ne'er-do-well, who was taken into custody. [69] On 15 September 1851, Lister was called as a witness to the husband's trial at the Old Bailey. [69] His testimony helped convict the husband, who was transported to Australia for 20 years ...
An Irish version of the tale has a ne'er-do-well named Drunk Jack or Stingy Jack who, when the Devil comes to collect his soul, tricks him into turning into a coin, so he can pay for his one last drink. When the Devil obliges, Jack places him in his pocket next to a crucifix, preventing him from returning to his original form.
It will be remembered too that the thriftless ne'er-do-well of A Rake's Progress inherited his money from a miserly father. By the end of the 19th century the theme of the miser was distancing itself from the simple moralities of journeyman painters and becoming a subject for aristocratic amateurs.
The Ne'er-Do-Well is a 1923 American comedy silent film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Gertrude Astor, John Miltern, Gus Weinberg, and Sidney Smith. The screenplay by Rex Beach and Louis Stevens is based on Rex Beach's 1911 novel of the same name. The film was released on April 29, 1923, by Paramount Pictures.
Yet, in the children of Buddenbrook Jr., the materially comfortable style of life provided by the dedication to solid, middle-class values elicits decadence: The fickle daughter, Toni, lacks and does not seek a purpose in life; son Christian is honestly decadent, and lives the life of a ne'er-do-well; and the businessman son, Thomas, who ...