“Cumberworld” & 26 More Old English Insults
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
An insult a day keeps the doctor away, or so the saying goes. Now if that’s the saying, does that mean an insult has similar properties to an apple or something? That’s possible. Isn’t it?
Just kidding. It does not. And there is no such thing as that saying. An insult a day is just an insult a day. And it does not keep the doctor away. That’s okay, though. Because even though an insult cannot keep the doctor away, it can shoo the ick in a day. Sometimes, an insult, a pretty clever one, can even make you laugh until your belly hurts. Then, there are times when an insult can make you feel out of sorts. So when it comes to saying an insult: when in doubt, don’t insult it out. At the same time, read the room first before saying something you might regret three hours later.
On that note, when was the last time you used an insult? Was that insult a modern insult or an old-timey one? Do you know any older than boomer age English insults? If not, give this a scroll!
- cumberworld: a useless person
- gollumpus: “a large, clumsy fellow” (according to the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose)
- whiffle-whaffle: an indecisive and time-wasting person
- raggabrash: a disorganized person
- snollygoster: an obnoxious, sneaky person who is not to be trusted because they will stop at nothing to get what they want
- saddle-goose: a foolish person; a moron; a stupid person
- afternoon farmer: a lazy person
- gobermouch: a very, very, very, very nosy person
- bedswerver: an adulterer; a cheater
- chuffer: a person who talks and talks and talks but does nothing
- fopdoodle: a foolish person; a stupid person
- tosser: a rude person; an obnoxious person; a stupid person
- duke of limbs: a very tall, clumsy person, awkward
- smellfungus: a complainer; someone who is always saying something and complaining
- snoutband: a person who always interrupts a conversation because they think they know better
- gnashnab: a person who is always complaining and is never happy
- klazomaniac: a person who shouts a lot for no good reason
- leasing-monger: a flowery and fancy way of calling someone a liar
- quisby: a person who doesn’t want to do any work; a lazy person
- rakefire: a guest who overstays their welcome and just won’t leave ever
- stampcrab: a very clumsy person
- skelpie-limmer: a misbehaving person (usually a child) who is always up to no good
- loiter-sack: a person who does nothing all day
- sorner: a moocher; a freeloader who lives off others
- tatterdemallion: a way to call someone dressed in tattered and ragged clothing
- grumbletonian: a person who is always unhappy and complaining
- smell-feast: that person who only shows up when there is food
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