Muppet
(pronounced mup-it)
(1) A usually derogatory slang term for somebody
conspicuously stupid (never capitalised).
Can be used affectionately and references intelligence; distinct from
cultural references such as bogan, chav, redneck etc although they can
(indeed sometimes should) be used in conjunction.
(2) Any puppet character so named in various TV
programmes (always capitalised).
1955: The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson (1936-1990) who variously would claim the word was (1) a construct of m(arionette) + (p)uppet and (2) it had no specific etymology and was coined because he liked the sound. The US trademark dates from 1972 with usage claimed from 1971 (and in print from 1970) and the eponymous US network TV programme was broadcast between 1976-1981. Well-scripted and meta-referential, Muppets aren’t stereotypically stupid; the slang term apparently applied to dopy people because Muppets look stupid. Use of the slang appears restricted to parts of the English-speaking world though not North America, having currency only in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
They are everywhere
The clusters are self-replicating; as one muppet departs, one or more appears and often, muppets reach critical-mass. Think about it, at one time there must have been only a few muppets; now look how many there are. Muppets are everywhere, seeming sometimes to populate whole streets or even suburbs. In workplaces also they tend to cluster and there are corporations in which entire departments appear staffed by muppets. Although low in productivity, muppet departments are harmonious workplaces and one muppet, witnessing some act of egregious stupidity by another, will playfully chide them, usually with the phrase “you muppet!” That’s also often heard in shopping centre car-parks when muppets have locked their keys in the car or can’t remember where it’s parked.
Lindsay Lohan (left) with Telly the Muppet (right), The Letter Z Decides to Quit the Alphabet, Sesame Street (1995).
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