To think if someone’s stupid, it’s really hard to describe them without either being called out for being disablist or using an expletive?

[Windthebobbinup1982]

If I say moron, idiot, cretin etc. I risk being called disablist...
So I’m basically reduced to using words like dick, twat, cock etc... which you can’t really use in polite company...

Is there any noun to describe someone who's stupid without doing one or the other?

And by ‘stupid’, I don’t mean someone who is unintelligent, I mean someone who’s acting in a way that’s at odds with their intelligence.
I

Thick as two short planks , a sandwich short of a picnic , thick as pigshit , not the brightest button

Buffoon. Good choice.

The word Nob always works for me. You can put so much feeling into those 3 letters to make it lighthearted or withering depending on the occasion.

A fool. The Bible goes on about them at length, and says avoid them wherever possible, basically.

Nincompoop is sadly under-used.

Plum, melt, plank... erm. Yeah, that’s the extent of my non sweary repertoire. Stick with twat, OP. nods sagely.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH IDIOT?

I think idiot is only offensive on MN.

I often describe stupid people as mouth-breathers.

Bill is a liability, Fred is incompetent. Jeremy is a disappointment.

Glad I don't work where you work, OP! I don't suffer fools gladly...

Dozy sod

I had no idea that idiot was offensive and I had to Google Cretin.

Just use moron!

Only on MN, where some people have more time to fall down the internet rabbit hole than is healthy for them, is anyone offended by that word. In the real world, no one gives a toss.

Oh there’s nothing wrong in the real world in calling someone a moron or an idiot if that is how they have behaved.

Try to remember that political correctness has no basis in reality - enjoy using the full breadth of the English language without regard to what some footling wazzocks have to say about it!

There’s also nothing wrong with describing someone’s behaviour as idiotic, moronic, or even stupid.

@Aridane Google it and you will see why it, moron, cretin etc is offensive to some. Not hard to use Google to find the answer to the question.

I don't understand how cretin, idiot and moron, are as you say 'disablist'. What's wrong with 'fool'?

If it looks like a moron, sounds like a moron and smells like a moron, it’s a moron.

Quinn - I asked about’idiot’, not ‘moron’ or ‘cretin’

Mine are: dipstick; too lazy to think; has two brain cells and one's on holiday; would go shopping for tartan paint.

Fool is good.

I tend to call my pupils prunes if they are daft.

I don't understand how cretin, idiot and moron, are as you say 'disablist'

Because at some time in the past those words have been medical words to describe those with learning difficulties.... however those meanings have been lost over time so I personally think people are looking for offence when they claim to find them offensive.

How about ignoranus? One who is both ignorant and an asshole simultaneously...

Fool is good

Fool is good... but has connotations of being ‘silly’ rather than ‘stupid’.

ignoranus

Like it!

I use moron etc I don’t really care.

My husband called someone a “fucking melon” the other day which actually I really like. You can say it with just the right amount of aggressiveness too.