The Congress parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram has reintroduced a rare nineteenth-century term to critique ruling party loyalists and state-aligned media figures. By defining the word as a political puppet acting entirely under external control, he argued that modern governance has generated numerous such actors. The linguistic critique reflects his ongoing pattern of deploying obscure English vocabulary to challenge political opponents. He previously shared the word "quockerwodger" in April 2022 and September, labeling it the defining phrase for the current political era.
Key points
The opposition lawmaker continues to deploy uncommon English vocabulary to critique the B…: The opposition lawmaker continues to deploy uncommon English vocabulary to critique the Bharatiya Janata Party and its supporters.
Critics frequently deploy labels like "godi media" to accuse certain news outlets of unqu…: Critics frequently deploy labels like "godi media" to accuse certain news outlets of unquestioningly amplifying official narratives.
Previous linguistic interventions by the parliamentarian include words like "allodoxaphob…: Previous linguistic interventions by the parliamentarian include words like "allodoxaphobia," "farrago," and "troglodyte."
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
New Delhi: Tired of using words like "andhbhakts", "godi" and "paid followers"?
Well, Congress leader and wordsmith Shashi Tharoor has an alternative - 'quockerwodger'.
The MP from Thiruvananthapuram, who is known to share rarely-used and often difficult-to-pronounce English words, which sends social media users reaching for the lexicon, also shared its meaning.
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'Quockerwodger' - A political puppet; a person who is controlled by someone else and acts on their instructions, Tharoor posted on X along with a screenshot of the definition.
In his post, Tharoor said, "For those tired of describing people as 'andhbhakts', 'godi', 'paid followers' and the like, an acceptable alternative?"
In September, Tharoor had shared 'Quockerwodger' and its meaning, calling it the word of our era.
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He had taken a dig at the government by posting the word.
"Word of our era! I think our ruling party has spawned a few of these in the last dozen…
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