dumb cluck
1
9.8
- noun
- /dʌm klʌk/
- Offensive
:
zoquete
- After making that silly mistake, I felt like a real dumb cluck.
Examples
-
"Man, what a dumb cluck!
Fiction book (2002) -
I hate to see a hep chick like you acting like a dumb cluck.
-
Feeling like a dumb cluck, I nevertheless looked at my watch and groaned.
Fiction book (1992) -
"So I've been a dumb cluck, a foil for a master."
Fiction book (1998) -
She called me a dumb cluck for forgetting her birthday.
-
Everyone laughed when he acted like a dumb cluck during the meeting.
Synonyms
88
9.9
A rude word for someone who does something very stupid
67
9.9
A rude name for a person who is stupid and annoying
59
8.8
A person who behaves in a silly or careless way
42
8.1
A person who behaves in a foolish way
26
8.4
A person who behaves in a silly or strange way
13
8.8
A person who is silly and not very smart
9
7.7
A person who behaves awkwardly and seems slow to understand
8
6.8
A person who is not very smart and often acts without thinking
7
9.5
A person who is foolish and makes silly mistakes
5
9.9
A person who behaves in a very stupid or careless way
5
9.7
A person who is not very smart
5
9.2
A person who behaves foolishly and who others often insult with this word
3
7.5
A person who is not very smart and often makes silly mistakes
3
9.9
A rude name for a person who is very silly or not smart
3
9.9
A person who behaves in a silly or stupid way
3
9.1
A person who often does foolish things or makes simple mistakes
3
9.3
A person who is not very smart
3
8.4
A rude word for someone who is not smart
2
9.9
A person who is clumsy and slow to understand things
2
8.7
A person who is not very smart
1
9.5
A childish name used to call someone silly
1
9.8
A rude word for a person who is very stupid
1
9.9
A person who acts in a silly or stupid way
1
9.1
A playful insult for a person who acts silly
1
9.5
A person who is silly and not serious
1
9.9
A person who behaves in a foolish way
1
8.4
A person who behaves in a foolish or silly way
1
9.9
An insulting word for a person who does foolish things
1
9.9
A person who is very stupid or foolish
1
9.9
A person who is silly and not very clever
1
9.9
A person who acts foolishly and lacks common sense
A person who acts very foolishly and cannot do simple tasks
A very foolish person who is bad at doing things
A person who is very foolish and bad at what they do
A person who acts very foolishly and makes many mistakes
A very rude name used to insult someone who does something very stupid
A person who is not very smart
A person who acts foolishly or is bad at what they do
How Foolish
Surface Forms
Morphology
dumb + cluck
The adjective 'dumb' transparently signals 'stupid', but 'cluck' is primarily the sound a chicken makes; the expression relies on a metaphorical animal-based insult (comparing a person to a clucking chicken). Because the meaning ('a foolish person') requires this metaphorical mapping rather than strict compositionality, it is partially predictable but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Dumb cluck uses dumb and cluck to paint the picture of a chicken that clucks and seems slow or silly. That's why people call someone a dumb cluck when they mean 'foolish' or not very clever.