Dictionary

walking carpet en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈwɔkɪŋ ˈkɑɹpɪt/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˈwɔːkɪŋ ˈkɑːpɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From a scene in the film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977), in which Princess Leia insults Chewbacca, a member of a race of hairy bipeds called Wookiees, by referring to him as a “walking carpet”.

Meanings

1. (derogatory, humorous, slang) An exceptionally hairy person.
   • But then my true hair problems began. […] It was all the other hairs rearing their ugly heads—between my eyebrows, above my upper lip, around my jawline, down my neck, around my new breasts, down my front to my navel, over my arms and knuckles, right down my legs to my toes. I didn't recall ever seeing a woman shaving her face and "taking it all off' on that Noxema commercial. None of the other girls at school appeared to be walking carpets. 2003, Bhargavi C. Mandava, “To Apu, with Love”, in Ophira Edut, editor, Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image, 2nd expanded and updated edition, Emeryville, Calif.: Seal Press, →ISBN, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2018, page 72:
   • I had *some* chest hairs, but it wasn't nearly as much as some guys I've seen (there were a couple of guys I saw in the locker room at school, both seniors, who were practically walking carpets). 2011 August 7, Rightardia [username], “Transgender Stories – Troy! – Chapter 1”, in alt.politics (Usenet), message-ID <j1ksqd$fjv$1@speranza.aioe.org>:
   • “Really.” Mac arched a thick eyebrow. “You didn't say anything about my body hair when we were going out together.” / Peter kept his eyes on the espresso and away from Mac's hairy wrist. “You're not like...that guy. You're not a walking carpet. And my God, you've got muscle definition.” 2003, Jonathan Cohen, chapter 2, in Bear Like Me: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Southern Tier Editions/Harrington Park Press, →ISBN; republished Maple Shade, N.J.: Bare Bones Books, Lethe Press, 2011, →ISBN, page 18:

Forms

Translations (2)

sh runjavac ((slang) exceptionally hairy person) · sh runjavica ((slang) exceptionally hairy person)

wikipedia: Chewbacca · wikipedia: Ballantine Books · wikipedia: Princess Leia