Wiktionary
ne'er-do-wells
n. (plural of ne'er-do-well English)
Usage examples of "ne'er-do-wells".
They came from the world around, the younger sons of fine families, the ne'er-do-wells, the soldiers of fortune, the drifters, the always-broke, the promoters, the con men, the thieves.
Pickering, and the reasoning is that it is better to try to salvage these ne'er-do-wells, these disgraces to the uniform, and utilize their flying skills, rather than send them to the Portsmouth Naval Prison.
Hanrahan had also heard that Colonel Miner, a strict disciplinarian, was considered just the man to shape up Hanrahan's ragtag army of misfits and ne'er-do-wells and turn them back into decent paratroopers.