1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 2, Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.
1914, John Galsworthy, The Mob, act 1:My dear friend, are you to become that hapless kind of outcast, a champion of lost causes?
2008, Harriet Barovick, "Detroit The Lost Season," Time, 31 Dec.:The hapless squad, which was outscored 517-268 in 2008, became the first in league history to go 0-16.
