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Glite Dictionary
to act like a wasteman

to act like a wasteman

9.9
To behave foolishly and not take responsibility
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : comportarse como un perdedor
  • Stop acting like a wasteman and start taking responsibility for your actions.

Examples

  • He always acts like a wasteman when he's drunk.

  • She told him to stop acting like a wasteman after he spent all his money on video games.

  • If you keep acting like a wasteman, people won't take you seriously.

  • She told him to quit acting like a wasteman after he missed another important meeting.

  • Don't act like a wasteman in front of your friends!

  • If you keep acting like a wasteman, you'll lose all your friends.

  • You need to quit acting like a wasteman and start focusing on your future.

Synonyms

to be a tosser
vsto act like a wasteman
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To behave in a rude, stupid way

is more about being irresponsible and worthless overall
to piss around
vsto act like a wasteman
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important

is more about being foolishly irresponsible and worthless than mere time wasting
to act like a tosser
vsto act like a wasteman
  • Offensive
9.9

To behave rudely or foolishly in a way that annoys others

is more about general irresponsibility and worthless behaviour
to act like a scally
vsto act like a wasteman
  • Offensive
9.9

To behave in a silly, rude way and break rules

focuses on general irresponsibility rather than youthful mischief
to act like a bum
vsto act like a wasteman
  • Offensive
8.6

To behave lazily and avoid work or responsibility

is broader stressing foolish and worthless acting rather than mere laziness

Antonyms

productive
293 3.5

Able to do a lot and get useful results

responsibly
52 3.0

In a careful way that shows others they can trust you to do what is right

Surface Forms

act like a wasteman infinitive
acted like a wasteman past
acted like a wasteman past participle
acting like a wasteman present participle
acts like a wasteman third person singular

Morphology

act + like + a + wasteman

The phrase is directly compositional: 'act' = behave, 'like' = in the manner of, and 'wasteman' = a worthless/foolish person (slang), so the overall meaning 'behave in an irresponsible or foolish way' follows straightforwardly from the parts. Although 'wasteman' is regional slang, if a learner knows that lexical meaning the construction is immediately interpretable and follows a common 'act/be like X' pattern.

Etymology

Act like a wasteman comes from a simple image of waste + man: a person who throws away money, time or chances and seems useless. So if someone acts like a wasteman they are behaving in a careless, foolish or 'worthless' way.