as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show
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Recent Examples of bush-league
While Chad is giving bush-league Sandler, the supporting characters are ripped from the playbook of Ted Lasso—another sports comedy based on a viral bit, not to mention a massively popular show whose title surely figured in the development of Chad Powers.
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Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what.
—Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bush-league
Adjective
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To make large profits from parking fees to make up for his terrible management of tax dollars and his expensive real estate errors should be unacceptable.—
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In just 24 hours, the president unveiled three massive state interventions into different markets that might’ve once looked—and sounded—like unacceptable levels of socialist dirigisme for a Republican to champion.—
Adjective
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His other go-to bogeyman, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is now firmly in his lame-duck era as his term ends this spring.—
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Your ultra-lame social media posts (with awful production values) don’t cut it by a Colorado mile high.—
Adjective
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As analysis, that’s not wrong, but where’s the sting of it inside this bizarre bonbon of a musical?—
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Despite his brilliance and intellect, he was prevented from having a full life by being born on the wrong side of Israel’s separation fence.—
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
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In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Adjective
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Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert.—
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Keeping bad things out of my body.—
Adjective
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Add the pathetic reality that Illinois is the very definition of unfriendliness for business development and job creation, and the only thing Pritzker and his accomplices can campaign on is the vilification of Trump, facts be damned.—
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There are solutions to Joe Biden’s failing and pathetic attempts to raise money to build a presidential library.—
Adjective
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Do a Soil Test Plant experts recommend testing garden soil at least once every 3 years to make sure the soil hasn’t become nutrient-deficient or developed a pH imbalance that may interfere with plant growth.—
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Hamant, a California native in her senior year, was diagnosed with Stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney cancer in April after suffering symptoms such as shortness of breath and a persistent cough, according to The Seattle Times.—
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Cite this Entry
“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bush-league. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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