Wednesday 26 August 2009

Epithets

Lost for an insult? Can't quite classify someone? Perhaps they're just a suit. And if you're tired of your job or your role in life, why not pick from this list?

acolyte,
affable B-player (who may be more useful to your team than too many A-players), all fur coat and no knickers, all mouth and trousers, alpha male, also-ran, anorak, apple-polisher, armchair critic

back number,
backstabber, back-to-the-land intellectual, bad lot, bean counter, bearleader, big cheese, blood-sucker, braggart, buffoon, bullshit artist

cakehound
(see cookie pusher), camp follower, card, carrot cruncher, celebrity dimwit, chancer, change junkie, charlatan, class clown, colourful character (a pathetic "colourful character" act - The Skeptic), Congressional ribbon-cutter

cookie pusher:
an effete young curate who passes round plates of pastries at vicarage tea parties; a gigolo who does the at fashionable salons; someone who hands out cookies (or flattery) in order to get ahead in life

corner boy, court jester, courtier, crab, creep

deadbeat, designated buffoon, designated victim, desk jockey, digital immigrant, digital native

do-gooder: "a family of dogged do-gooders and culture vultures", Pete Clark, Evening Standard July 2007

dogsbody, doomsayer, dork, drone, dupe, dweeb

egg-head, empty suit, evangelist

fashion leader, fat cat, firefighter, flatterer, flunkey, follower, freeloader, fruit loop

gang boss, gang leader, gannet, geek, good sport, goofball, gooseberry, gopher, grass, grockle, grouch

hair band (early 80s group with big hair), haircut (someone who's only a trendy hairdo), hanger-on, has been, hayseed, hick, hotshot, hurricane head (storm chaser)

jellyfish, jobsworth, joe cool, just plain folks

kibitzer, killjoy, lackey, lamb dressed as mutton, leader, leech, licensed buffoon, licensed fool, loon,

loser, lost ball in the high weeds (clueless character), lovable rogue, lowlife

mari du saison (temporary boyfriend), middleman, minion, monstress, moonbat

mouton enragé: A normally calm, easily led person who becomes suddenly enraged or violent - Oxford English Dictionary

naysayer, ne'er-do-well, neverwas, new best friend, nine-days' wonder (famous for 15 minutes), no-hoper

odd fish, oddball, ordinary working stiff, parasite, party pooper, passenger, patsy, prankster, prima donna, punter, queen bee

rabbit at bay (Margery Allingham)

saloon-bar philosopher, satellite, scrounger, sherpa, show-off, slacker, snake-oil salesman, snob, spoilsport, sponger, square, stock character, stooge, stoolpigeon, straight friend, stuffed shirt, sultress, sycophant

toady, tourist, travelling knife and fork (someone who'll do anything for a good dinner), trendsetter

underdog, underling, user (of other people)

Vicar of Bray (who changed his politics and theology according to who was in power)

wag, wannabe, water carrier, wet blanket, yes-man, yesterday's papers

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