flannelled fool
- noun
- /ˈflænəld fuːl/
- Offensive
:
idiota
- The media often mock politicians as flannelled fools for their out-of-touch remarks.
Examples
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He was dismissed as just another flannelled fool at the club.
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Don't be a flannelled fool; think before you speak.
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He is such a flannelled fool for believing that.
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Don't be a flannelled fool and trust everything you hear!
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Don't be a flannelled fool; think critically before you act.
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Many people consider him a flannelled fool for ignoring common sense.
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The teacher warned us not to be flannelled fools and to question everything.
Synonyms
∞
1.4
A person who makes poor decisions and is easily tricked
17
8.2
A person who acts very stupidly or recklessly
1
9.9
A person who is foolish or silly and makes simple mistakes
1
9.9
A foolish person who often does stupid things
1
9.9
A person who is easily tricked and believes things without checking
1
9.9
A person who behaves in a foolish way
A foolish person who makes simple mistakes
A person who is not very smart
An old word for a person who is foolish or slow to understand
Antonyms
How Foolish
Surface Forms
Morphology
flannelled + fool
The phrase is compositionally interpretable: 'flannelled' (wearing or relating to flannel) combined with 'fool' yields the literal idea of a foolish person characterized by flannel clothing, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a basic meaning. However, the phrase carries culture-specific, pejorative connotations and a somewhat idiomatic British nuance (casual/unthinking stereotype) and the adjective form is rare, so the full intended sense is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Flannelled fool may come from the picture of someone wearing soft, warm flannel and looking relaxed and a bit careless. That's why flannelled (the clothes) and fool (a silly person) came together to mean 'a foolish person' who acts without thinking.