BY ALEXIA JAMES

“Popinjay”—a word so charmingly obsolete. I propose that this gloriously colourful term merits a revival. In an age where “selfie” and “raw dogging” are seemingly integral to our vernacular, surely we can find room for a bit of old-school pizzazz?

In 2018 Boris Johnson attempted a revival but the word has slipped back onto the linguistic scrapheap where it does not deserve to be abandoned. Instead, we should reinstate the popinjay to its rightful place in modern discourse.

Popinjay, derived from the Middle English “popingay” and the Old French “papegai,” which means “parrot,” was once a high-flying insult lobbed at someone who was vain, arrogant, or even slightly full of themselves.

Enough hot air to keep a blimp in the sky. Wearing a crown made of compliments. Believing their opinion to be a universal truth.

Picture a deluded, ugly parrot in a sequined tuxedo, strutting through the forest while admiring its reflection in every puddle. That’s a popinjay for you—a display of foolish conceit, wrapped in self-importance and borrowed feathers. A Gary Lineker without the goal record. Big-headed Huw Edwards before his WhatsApp was cracked. James Corden, the scoffer of all on Greggs’ shelves.

Of course, Britain is replete with candidates for Chief Popinjay.  

From the little known:

Peter Jukes

To the lift-sporting:

Christopher Gary Packham

From the Marxist, verbal-diarrhoea-stricken:

James O’Brien

To a splash of the Marxist diarrhoea itself:

Sadiq Khan

From the Kelly-haunted:

Alastair Campbell

Back to the unknown:

A troll called ‘Dr’ Matthew Sweet who works, apparently, for BBC Radio 3. A mate of Huw Edwards?

Let’s face it, rude Britons are world-beating at insults but our current arsenal, especially for those poor souls scribing for publications where they must choose their words carefully, is sometimes about as satisfying as the thought of Rachel Reeves in her y-fronts pole-dancing.

When was the last time you called someone a “jumped-up prat” or an “arrogant Dunt” with the same gusto you might have used to say, “You’re such a popinjay”?

“Popinjay” rolls off the tongue with an air of Shakespearean drama that modern slang simply cannot match.

Reemploying “popinjay” gives us a chance to reconnect with our linguistic ancestors. They understood the importance of flair and flamboyance. They weren’t afraid to use a word that sounded like it belonged in a banned novel or merited a duel. By reintegrating popinjay into our lexicon, we’re paying homage to a time when language was as much about performance as it was about communication. Tragically, these days language is too often as much about deluded self-importance as it is about conniving obfuscation …

Gina Miller

So, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I implore you: let us bring back popinjay. (We could always start a petition but that would be so popinjayesque). It’s time to reclaim a word that, with its historical heft and delightful snark, offers a refreshing alternative to the mundane ‘tosspot’ and ‘wanker’, or their beloved hybrid, ‘wankpot’, which, in this age of dullards, have been overused, grown cheesy and become stale.