(source - thedayafteryesterday.co.uk)
In case you are not familiar with this Scottish word, the urban dictionanary defines it as someone who is reckless, absent minded, unwise, or silly.
I like this word because it’s not rude, but accurately describes someone who has just done something dumb, daft, whatever. It really is a word that describes the behavior and not the person.
I am also familiar with this word because I get called it quite often.
I was called a numpty when I set fire to the kettle by putting it on a lit gas ring to heat the water, rather than the more appropriate method of plugging it in.
I was called it on any occasions when attempting travel. Travel is a very complicated activity, underestimated by many people. I was called it when I found my passport was out of date a week before travelling, when I left all our passports on the table at mom and dad’s so we missed our flight home ( actually I was called something else to at the time but we won’t go into that now). I was called it when I missed a flight, 8 months pregnant, because of excessive shopping – and when, in a strop I finally binned the unwieldy bouquet I had been carrying around all day (to thank me for a reading at a friend’s wedding) I turned round and bumped into… the happy couple at the airport to catch their honeymoon flight.
As a child I’m sure my parents thought it, even if they didn’t say it, when I tied my hair to the washing line, or when I stapled my tongue.
Most recently I was called it when I drove half way to work with a cat in the back of the car, although it wasn’t the exact word I used when the cat jumped on me at the traffic lights.
Being a numpty is not as bad as it seems, once you come out of the cupboard and admit it, people are pretty accepting, and no longer surprised when you forget a child at Ikea, or go on holiday without a bottle opener.
So, I would like to invite you all to join our big, happy, numpty family by ‘fessing your numptiest moment.