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Phrase Meanings » can't punch one's way out of a paper bag
What does "can't punch one's way out of a paper bag" mean?
Be inept, as in Ask him to program the VCR? He can't punch his way out of a paper bag. This hyperbolic term for extreme ineptitude originally was an expression of contempt for a weak or cowardly boxer. [Slang; c. 1910]