buffoon
a silly but amusing person
TRANSLATION
buffoon = Clown, Witzbold, Hanswurst --- GOOGLE INDEX buffoon: approximately 3,200,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Donald the Dangerous. Donald Trump is remarkably ignorant about international affairs, and ... a global joke, a man regarded in most foreign capitals as a BUFFOON."
The New York Times
The New York Times
Did you
know?
buffoon
noun
- a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc
- a foolish person
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
Buffoon is a 16th century word that referred to a pantomime dance and later was used to describe a clown. It stems from the Middle French bouffon and from the Italian buffone, meaning a jester. Buffone in turn derived from the verb buffare, meaning to blow out one's cheeks (as in a comic gesture).
As the Royal Shakespeare Company points out, the buffoon (or jester as they were often referred to) once played an important role in the amusement of the English aristocracy:
"In ancient times courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or buffoons, who sometimes dressed as other servants were dressed, but generally wore a motley (i.e. parti-coloured) coat, hood with donkey ears or a red-flannel jester's hat and bells.
Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558-1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead to a fool being whipped."
The modern buffoon - whether professional clowns, stand-up comedians or public personalities that we like to make fun of - can still be amusing. Caution is advised when referring to someone as a buffoon though. As the Collins English Dictionary definition illustrates, depending on the situation or context, buffoon can be applied in either a light-hearted or mean-spirited manner.
---
SYNONYMS
bozo, comedian, fool, harlequin, jester, joker, merry-andrew, wag
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The motorway was full of buffoons today!"
noun
- a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc
- a foolish person
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
Buffoon is a 16th century word that referred to a pantomime dance and later was used to describe a clown. It stems from the Middle French bouffon and from the Italian buffone, meaning a jester. Buffone in turn derived from the verb buffare, meaning to blow out one's cheeks (as in a comic gesture).
As the Royal Shakespeare Company points out, the buffoon (or jester as they were often referred to) once played an important role in the amusement of the English aristocracy:
"In ancient times courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or buffoons, who sometimes dressed as other servants were dressed, but generally wore a motley (i.e. parti-coloured) coat, hood with donkey ears or a red-flannel jester's hat and bells.
Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558-1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead to a fool being whipped."
The modern buffoon - whether professional clowns, stand-up comedians or public personalities that we like to make fun of - can still be amusing. Caution is advised when referring to someone as a buffoon though. As the Collins English Dictionary definition illustrates, depending on the situation or context, buffoon can be applied in either a light-hearted or mean-spirited manner.
---
SYNONYMS
bozo, comedian, fool, harlequin, jester, joker, merry-andrew, wag
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The motorway was full of buffoons today!"
