gutless wonder

noun

One who lacks guts or courage; a coward.

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Meanings

noungutless wonder (plural gutless wonders)

plural gutless wonders

  1. derogatoryidiomaticslangOne who lacks guts or courage; a coward.

    What in the hell was wrong with him, anyway. Just a gutless wonder - nothing more or less.

    1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 125
    1 more example

    Yer can't even fight unless you've got a knife or picket or broken bottle, yer gutless wonder.

    1993, Archie Weller, Going Home

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
chickencraveninvertebratenithingpussypussyboyquakebuttockscaredy-catscaredy pantsshithouseslagyellowbelly

Origin

The idea is that the addressee's figurative gutlessness (cowardice) has been carried over into physical gutlessness (disembowelment), and that his bowel-less survival is a wonder.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

gutless wonder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gutless%20wonder

MLA

“gutless wonder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gutless%20wonder. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gutless wonder,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gutless%20wonder.

Source: gutless wonder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.