Thinking man's crumpet
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In British English, the term thinking man's crumpet refers to any woman who is intelligent and good looking, particularly one who has a high profile in the broadcast media. It derives from the slang "crumpet" to refer to a woman who is regarded as an object of sexual desire, which is itself an association with the crumpet, a baked product usually eaten warm after being toasted and spread with butter.[1]
Perhaps the first person to be considered "thinking man's crumpet" was Joan Bakewell, christened thus by humorist Frank Muir following her appearances in high-brow television discussion programmes such as BBC2's Late Night Line-Up.[2] The term has subsequently been applied to high-profile women such as Anne Gregg,[3] Joanna Lumley,[3] and Felicity Kendal,[3] and, more recently, Helen Mirren,[4] and Gillian Anderson.[5] In a poll in the Radio Times in 2003, Nigella Lawson received the most votes to be the readers' "thinking man's crumpet",[6] with Carol Vorderman in second place.[7]
The phrase is occasionally reversed, to refer to "thinking woman's crumpet".
[edit] References
- ^ Crumpet, from World Wide Words.
- ^ An affair to remember, The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 2003.
- ^ a b c Obituary, The Independent, 9 September 2006.
- ^ Helen Mirren: A real drama queen, The Independent, 3 September 2006.
- ^ The X Files Uncovered, Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Press Release, BBC Worldwide, 22 September 2003.
- ^ Biography of Carol Vorderman from IMDb.
