as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
his persona may be that of an aw-shucks country singer, but offstage he is anything but
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Recent Examples of aw-shucks
The connections Plunkett draws between Frost’s lyric poems and their literary influences are valuable, particularly for anyone taken in by Frost’s aw-shucks persona.
—
Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Image The Killer Inside Me By Jim Thompson From the outside, Lou Ford seems to be every bit the easygoing, aw-shucks deputy sheriff of a small Texas town.
—S.a. Cosby, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
His aw-shucks face was his biggest asset as Joe Biden and even the devil himself.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2025
So Far Quaid’s aw-shucks affability belies his constantly turning brain and his ambition to stretch beyond the bounds of what he’s done before.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2025
Profiles invariably zeroed in on his combination of dogged perseverance and an aw-shucks approach to his task.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Sadler was an aw-shucks, yes-sir, no-ma’am twangy singer who was raised in Texas.
—Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
Gillis, with his aw-shucks demeanor and decidedly un-PC comedy, represents exactly the kind of normal-guy sensibility Bud Light desperately needs to appeal to after alienating its core audience.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
Part of Allen’s aw-shucks charm has been carrying himself as just one of the guys, always approachable and eager to please.
—Tim Graham, The Athletic, 23 July 2024
Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Image The Killer Inside Me By Jim Thompson From the outside, Lou Ford seems to be every bit the easygoing, aw-shucks deputy sheriff of a small Texas town.
—S.a. Cosby, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
His aw-shucks face was his biggest asset as Joe Biden and even the devil himself.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2025
So Far Quaid’s aw-shucks affability belies his constantly turning brain and his ambition to stretch beyond the bounds of what he’s done before.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2025
Profiles invariably zeroed in on his combination of dogged perseverance and an aw-shucks approach to his task.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Sadler was an aw-shucks, yes-sir, no-ma’am twangy singer who was raised in Texas.
—Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
Gillis, with his aw-shucks demeanor and decidedly un-PC comedy, represents exactly the kind of normal-guy sensibility Bud Light desperately needs to appeal to after alienating its core audience.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
Part of Allen’s aw-shucks charm has been carrying himself as just one of the guys, always approachable and eager to please.
—Tim Graham, The Athletic, 23 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aw-shucks
Adjective
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Ravi asks, an astoundingly naive question for a show like 9-1-1.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
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In the February 1984 issue: Latin America: A media stereotype Over time, Vargas Llosa realized that this kind of reflexive leftism was naive.—
Ilan Stavans,
The Atlantic,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Since 1973, at least 200 innocent people have been exonerated due to wrongful convictions.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
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In a nearly 400-page petition to the California Court of Appeals, filed Friday night, the LA Innocence Project argued Scott Peterson is innocent and his conviction should be overturned.—
Santina Leuci,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The simplest way, Studholme suggests, is to use one group of neutrals or a tone on tone graduation of the same color, such as Pigeon, Blue Gray, Muzzle and Cromarty from Farrow & Ball, for example.—
Ariel Okin,
Vogue,
18 Apr. 2025
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Asked who’d buy these gold cards during an Oval Office meeting with reporters in February, Trump had a simple answer.—
Meehika Barua,
HubSpot,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
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Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Aw-shucks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aw-shucks. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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