Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a fool, a moron.

1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 192/1: Shlub. (Yiddish-American). A dolt; a fool.
1958		Mad mag. Dec. 33: Hank Schlubb, right guard for the Winston-Salem Filters.
1964		‘Ed McBain’ Ax 149: ‘Kaplowitz,’ I say, ‘are you a janitor or a schlub?’ .
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 209: I wanted to impress her, inform her that she was talking to a special person, no schlub.
1983		R. Price Breaks 321: That eight-by-ten photo of that shlub in the army suit.
1999		D. Knowles ‘Rev. of Happiness’ at AboutFilm.com 🌐 The rage inside of this straining-to-be-likeable fellow is profound. It’s disconcerting to see the schlub speak his mind. I bet every schlub and schlubette in the theatre was silently cheering him on.
2007		C. Goffard Snitch Jacket 153: Some schlub goes into the desert to burn his ex-girlfriend’s furniture.
2011		N.Y. Times 20 Oct. 🌐 These two soft-bellied, sharp-tongued schlubs do battle with the angelic Stephen.
2015		Twitter 5 May 🌐 It’s so cool that men can be attractive as schlubs and women can be attractive as European supermodel giraffe fembot.

2. a coarse bumpkin.

1967		L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 79: Get that schlub outa here!
1991		P. Blauner Slow Motion Riot 291: I wonder if she thinks I’m just a shlub from Flushing.
2020		N.Y. Rev. Bks 20 Aug. 🌐 The narrator is a drunken schlub, doing his best but usually failing.

3. in non-judgemental use, a person.

2002

T. Dorsey Triggerfish Twist (2002) 416: Where can a poor schlub get some decent fried chicken in this town?