I’m tired of all the school grounds name calling that is done in the name of “discussing” politics and speaking up to protect us. Name calling is an attempt to bully or diminish someone with demeaning language. It is the least effect means of “discussion.” So I’ve decided to issue a challenge to all name callers: improve your insults. And because it’s unlikely the name callers will do research in order to improve their insults, I’m providing you with a choice of words.
(In case you don’t get it—I’m not really asking you to improve your insults. I’d rather you don’t insult anyone. I provide this list because I love words and these are fun to say.)
Words to Improve Your Insults
Acerbate—a bitter person
Bedswerver—An adulterer
Billingsgate—coarse or abusive language
Bloviate—people who talk for a long time or who inflate their story to make themselves sound better
Bumfuzzle—confused, perplexed, flustered
Cacafuego—Swaggering braggart or boaster
Contumelious — insolent; rude and sarcastic; contemptuous
Dingus: A person regarded as stupid
Discombobulated—Very confused and disorganized
Drate-Poke—One who drawls or speaks indistinctly.
Flibbertigibbet—a silly person who talks incessantly
Fopdoodle—Insignificant or foolish man
Gardyloo—a warning shouted before slop bucket is dumped out the window
Gobermouch—Prying person who likes to interfere in other folks’ business.
Ill-willy—having an unfriendly disposition
Klazomaniac—Someone who only seems able to speak by shouting.
Malarkey—words that are insincere or foolish
Molly coddle—A man or boy used to being coddled; to pamper.
Namby-pamby—Weak, insipid, indecisive; a feeble person.
Niggle—To be preoccupied with trifles or petty details; to cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety; to find fault constantly and trivially.
Nincompoop—a foolish or stupid person
Piffle—Nonsense. To talk or act feebly or futilely.
Popinjay—A vain, talkative person.
Scalawag—A reprobate; a rascal.
Sesquipedalian— a person who uses long words.
Skelpie-limmer—A badly-behaved child.
Snollygoster—a politician who does or says things for their own personal advancement
Taradiddle—a pretentious lie
You can look up any of the above words at Merriam-Webster Dictionary online. For more fun with words you can learn the oxymoron song.
Did you learn a new word or two today? My favorite new word is “snollygoster.” It’s fun to say.
It’s my sincere hope that this was a fun read and that none of these words, or others, will be used to insult any real person. (It might be fun to use a few in one of my stories.) What about you? Did this list help you improve your insults? What fun or unusual words have you heard?