Twerps

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A slang term used to describe foolish or inept individuals often lacking in social skills
2. Referring to people who are considered annoying or incompetent in a playful or derogatory manner
3. Denoting those who behave in a silly or immature way, often provoking frustration or amusement in others

Etymology: "Twerps" is simply the plural of "twerp," and the origin of the singular is genuinely unsettled. The most colourful candidate comes from a 1944 letter by J. R. R. Tolkien, who recalled a contemporary at Oxford named T.W. Earp, whom he called "the original twerp." No evidence has surfaced to confirm that this is where the word came from, so it remains a tantalising possibility rather than a fact. Other suggestions are just as speculative. One links it to "Antwerp," a type of racing pigeon that flew between Antwerp and London, with the word possibly clipped from that name. Another proposes an imitation of birdsong, "twirp." A further idea treats it as a dialect variant of "dwarf," and another connects it to the Welsh "twp," meaning "a fool." What is clear is that the word was originally British slang of the 1910s.

Synonyms: idiots, fools, jerks, morons, nincompoops

Antonyms: geniuses, intellectuals, heroes