Way back in 2015, I bought this amazing little book, titled Shakespeare Insult Generator – Mix and Match more than 150,000 insults in the bard’s own words. I quickly reviewed in an earlier blog post, but I didn’t want to deprive you of Shakespeare’s words any longer. So here’s a list of my 10 favourite Shakespeare-inspired insults!
But first, a little something about the introduction, because it’s that amazing! It says that these Shakespearian insults are welcome when compared with the F-word which is used most at this time. “The usage of the F-word, is more akin to the pre-linguistic banality of dogs barking at one another than it is to any inventiveness of human wordsmithery.” Yes, I love this introduction!
But now, on to the insults, and their explanations.
- Apish barren-spirited bed-presser
- Apish: foolish, resembling an ape
- Barren-spirited: empty; unoriginal
- Bed-presser: heavy, lazy person
- Beslubbering knotty-pated capocchia
- Beslubbering: smear, smeared; slobbering
- Knotty-pated: thick-headed
- Capocchia: dolt, simpleton; foreskin
- Lecherous leptus-leering lewdster
- Lecherous: excessively sex-driven
- Leptus-leering: smiling like a toady
- Lewdster: crude, sexually offensive person
- Unwiped rump-fed miscreant
- Unwiped: unwashed, unclean
- Rump-fed: with a well-nourished rump
- Miscreant: vile wretch, detestable scoundrel; originally, a misbeliever, heretic, or infidel
- Rascally lily-livered ticklebrain
- Rascally: untrustworthy
- Lily-livered: easily scared, cowardly
- Tickelbrain: drunkard; “ticklebrain” is a type of strong liquor
- Thrasonical nook-shotten jack-a-nape
- Thrasonical; boastful, bragging; named after “Thraso”, a braggart soldier in an ancient Roman comedy
- Nook-shotten: full of nooks and angles; confusing, deceptive
- Jack-a-nape: ape, monkey; conceited person
- Pestiferous stretch-mouthed rampallian
- Pestiferous: annoying, troublesome; dangerous to society; associated with the “pest” or “plague”
- Stretch-mouthed: wide-mouthed, foul-mouthed
- Rampallian: ruffian, scoundrel
- Facinerious sheep-biting princox
- Facinerious: extremely wicked and vile
- Sheep-biting: mean, cowardly
- Princox: saucy insolent boy
- Mammering dizzy-eyed pin-buttock
- Mammering: hesitating, stammering
- Dizzy-eyed: giddy, staring
- Pin-buttock: narrow or sharp buttock
- Warped hell-governed mushrump
- Warped: twisted, deformed
- Hell-governed: under the influence of the Devil: mischevious
- Mushrump: mushroom
So, what do you think? Which insults will you be whipping out the next time you want to cuss someone out? Please let me know in the comments, I’ll reward you with another Shakespearian insult.
Happy reading,
Loes M.
1 Comment