ContextWord · Ages 9-80 · In use
sans-dessein
A thoughtless, clumsy or dim person. Someone who didn't think before acting.
Quel sans-dessein, il a laissé son cell dans l'autobus. (What a dope, he left his phone on the bus.)
For parents and educators
A classic, fairly mild Québec insult that parents probably used too.
Where it came from
Old Québec expression: literally 'without design', meaning without a plan or good sense.
Also heard as
sans-génie, un sans-dessein
Sources