Dictionary

muppet en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈmʌpɛt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈmʊpɪt/ (Northern-England)
• /ˈmʌpɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈmɐpət/ (Australia, New-Zealand)

Etymology

From Muppet, from the Muppets franchise

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of Muppet (“a puppet in the style of Jim Henson's Muppets”).
   alt of Muppet
2. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, derogatory, slang) An incompetent or foolish person.
   • Scrappy set off to run out through the dog flap, but Katie caught hold of him (as he was such a muppet he'd be in danger – as usual – of ending up under the wheels of whoever's Chelsea tractor was scrunching its way up the gravel driveway). 2012, Jane Reynolds, Just Good Friends?, eBook Partnership, →ISBN:
   • The truth was I'd love to be in the school team but I wouldn't get picked anyway: most of the kids think I'm a real muppet, a gormo who's into bird-watching and if I tried to join in, they would just rib me, so I don't bother to show any interest. 2012, Diane Perry, Red Kite, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 29:
   • You impudent muppet, diu lay! You may be able to hoodwink people over in the UK, but not those of us over here. 1996 April 18, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):
   • 'Honestly, Ellie, I don't know why you bother.' 'Err, because I need to squeeze my size twelve self into a size eight wedding dress?' She rolls her eyes. 'You're such a muppet. Why didn't you just buy a bigger size? Dieting is pointless.' 2011, Ruth Saberton, Ellie Andrews Has Second Thoughts, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
   • Sally is such a muppet, the way she always misses the train.
   • There was a silence while Miranda tried to form a sentence that wouldn't antagonise her friend. Or was she a friend? Would a proper friend have set her up with such a – such a muppet? 2011, Penny Smith, Summer Holiday, HarperCollins UK, →ISBN:
   • Anyway here was a message now, from 'Geordie', sent to Jack and cc-ed to the rest of his male colleagues. Subject line: 'You've been replaced with a real muppet.' 2020, Dan Brotzel, Hotel du Jack: And Other Stories, Sandstone Press Ltd, →ISBN:
   • Some muppet has parked a car at the bus stop.

Forms

Deriveds

muppetry

Translations (10)

fr guignol (incompetent or foolish person) · pt tolo (incompetent or foolish person) · ru болван (incompetent or foolish person) · fi tolvana (incompetent or foolish person) · pt tola (incompetent or foolish person) · es teleñeco (incompetent or foolish person) · fi törppö (incompetent or foolish person) · fi tollo (incompetent or foolish person) · cs pako (incompetent or foolish person) · sv mupp (incompetent or foolish person)