nincompoop
a very silly person
TRANSLATION
nincompoop = der Dummkopf, der Trottel --- GOOGLE INDEX nincompoop: approximately 650,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
On the job, advancement to more senior positions requires a strong command of the written language. Depending on your ability to communicate in writing, you may be labeled as bright prospect or unemployable NINCOMPOOP.
Bridges.com
In each episode of "Undercover Boss" the CEO of some big corporation goes undercover, camera crew in tow, to mingle with his minions. And — usually after the second ad break — this CEO discovers that some NINCOMPOOP of a middle manager is mangling his vision and making life a perfect hell for his hard-working employees.
Washington Post
Bridges.com
In each episode of "Undercover Boss" the CEO of some big corporation goes undercover, camera crew in tow, to mingle with his minions. And — usually after the second ad break — this CEO discovers that some NINCOMPOOP of a middle manager is mangling his vision and making life a perfect hell for his hard-working employees.
Washington Post
Did you
know?
nincompoop
noun
- a silly or stupid person
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The British seem to think that nincompoop is a wonderful sounding word. A 2007 survey of around 2,000 members of the British public revealed that of the 16,500 entries in the Cambridge Dictionary, nincompoop is the favourite sounding word, followed by "love", "mum" and "discombobulated".
The origin of the word is a mystery however. In his Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755, Samuel Johnson suggests that nincompoop derives from the Latin "non compos", a medical and legal term for a person considered not mentally competent.
The Oxford English Dictionary asserted more than 100 years later that this theory fails to explain the origin of variations like nicompoop and nickumpoop. Etymologists are no different than other scientists when it comes to casting doubt on the ideas of others.
Anyway, if language reflects reality we have a bit of a problem - English is full of synonyms for nincompoop. Here's a non-exhaustive list :
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SYNONYMS
ass, berk, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, bore, bozo, buffoon, butt, charlie, chowderhead, chump, clod, clot, clown, cretin, dimwit, dingleberry, dipstick, dolt, donkey, dope, dork, dumbo, dummy, dumb bell, dumb ox, dunce, dullard, dunderhead, dupe, easy mark, fair game, fall guy, fathead, goon, goofball, goof, goofus, git, halfwit, idiot, ignoramus, illiterate, imbecile, jackass, jerk, klutz, knobhead, knucklehead, pudding-head, thickhead, wooden-head, airhead, pinhead, lamebrain, pea-brain, lamer, laughing stock, lightweight, loon, lummox, lunkhead, meathead, mooncalf, moron, mug, muttonhead, nerd, ninny, nitwit, noodle, numskull, nut, prat, plonker, pillock, pushover, schlepper, silly, simpleton, stooge, squarehead, sucker, tomfool, turkey, twerp, twit, victim, wally, yo-yo, zombie
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I felt like a complete nincompoop after I locked my keys in the car!"
noun
- a silly or stupid person
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The British seem to think that nincompoop is a wonderful sounding word. A 2007 survey of around 2,000 members of the British public revealed that of the 16,500 entries in the Cambridge Dictionary, nincompoop is the favourite sounding word, followed by "love", "mum" and "discombobulated".
The origin of the word is a mystery however. In his Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755, Samuel Johnson suggests that nincompoop derives from the Latin "non compos", a medical and legal term for a person considered not mentally competent.
The Oxford English Dictionary asserted more than 100 years later that this theory fails to explain the origin of variations like nicompoop and nickumpoop. Etymologists are no different than other scientists when it comes to casting doubt on the ideas of others.
Anyway, if language reflects reality we have a bit of a problem - English is full of synonyms for nincompoop. Here's a non-exhaustive list :
---
SYNONYMS
ass, berk, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, bore, bozo, buffoon, butt, charlie, chowderhead, chump, clod, clot, clown, cretin, dimwit, dingleberry, dipstick, dolt, donkey, dope, dork, dumbo, dummy, dumb bell, dumb ox, dunce, dullard, dunderhead, dupe, easy mark, fair game, fall guy, fathead, goon, goofball, goof, goofus, git, halfwit, idiot, ignoramus, illiterate, imbecile, jackass, jerk, klutz, knobhead, knucklehead, pudding-head, thickhead, wooden-head, airhead, pinhead, lamebrain, pea-brain, lamer, laughing stock, lightweight, loon, lummox, lunkhead, meathead, mooncalf, moron, mug, muttonhead, nerd, ninny, nitwit, noodle, numskull, nut, prat, plonker, pillock, pushover, schlepper, silly, simpleton, stooge, squarehead, sucker, tomfool, turkey, twerp, twit, victim, wally, yo-yo, zombie
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I felt like a complete nincompoop after I locked my keys in the car!"
