cockwomble

a foolish or obnoxious person

TRANSLATION

cockwomble = eine Person, die eine Kombination aus Arroganz, Dummheit und Unwissenheit zeigt — ein kompletter Idiot

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

“Mike Batt, who wrote and performed the Wombles’ spin-off series of seventies pop hits. I thought I’d find an ally but, to my surprise, Mike turned out to be a fan of the COCKWOMBLE phenomenon. ‘I don’t know where it came from but I rather like it,’ he told me. ‘I think calling someone a cock is a bit blunt; but if you add womble, it softens it and gives it a bit of wit. I don’t mind it at all’. ”

John Sturgis — The Criitic (17th December 2022)

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“Google searches for 'COCKWOMBLE' levelled out to roughly 20 or 30 a week in the UK in the first half of this year, but then spiked in mid-July. That was about the time Boris Johnson resigned as Foreign Secretary. There's something about Brexit - and Trump, who back in 2016 was coated in a hail COCKWOMBLES on Twitter when he suggested that Remain-backing Scotland had voted to take back control of itself.”

Tom Nicholson — Esquire Magazine (30th August 2018)

Did you
know?

cockwomble
noun (informal)

- a person, usually male, prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or inappropriate behaviour while generally having a very high opinion of their own wisdom and importance

- an individual who is considered foolish, incompetent, or irritating. It is often used in a derogatory manner to criticize someone's behavior, actions, or general demeanor. The term implies a combination of arrogance, stupidity, and ignorance

OneLook Thesaurus, Wikipedia

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WORD ORIGIN

The exact origins of "cockwomble" are hard to pin down. It is believed to have first surfaced on an online football forum, where it was used to describe someone possessing "properties of striking idiocy".

The term has gained popularity in recent years, particularly on social media platforms like Twitter. The word is a compound of "cock”, which is used in British slang to describe someone who is foolish or annoying, and "womble”, which softens the insult and adds a humorous twist.

The "Wombles" are fictional creatures from a British children's TV show known for their tidying habits, making the combination somewhat absurd and thus humorous.

"Cockwomble" is an interesting example of creativity and humour in British slang, combining elements of indecency and whimsy to produce a memorable and effective insult.

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SYNONYMS

addlepate, airhead, arrogant fool, bighead, birdbrain, blockhead, blowhard, bonehead, bozo, braggart, buffoon, bungler, chump, clown, COCKWOMBLE, conceited fool, cretin, crumbum, dimwit, dingbat, dingwad, dodo, dolt, doofus, dork, dumbbell, dunderhead, dunce, egotist, featherbrain, goofball, halfwit, ignoramus, imbecile, jerk, know-it-all, knuckle-dragger, knucklehead, lamebrain, lummox, moron, mugwump, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, nowt, numbskull, numpty, pea-brain, pinhead, pigwidgeon, pompous ass, sap, scatterbrain, schlemiel, schlub, self-important twit, swoose, thickhead, tomfool, twazzock, twit, wally, wazzbag, wazzock, widgie, windbag, wiseacre, woofter, woolly back, woolly woofter

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