To ask what a 'numpty' is where you live and if it's offensive?

[Eeepsh]

Around here (South East) it means being a bit of a twit and is usually used with affection but I use it about my son and someone from East Anglia area was horrified!

Just wondering if it's a regional thing.

Another Manc here and another vote for definitely not offensive.

It means a bit daft but there a phase where young people were using it (incorrectly) to call someone a sexual percent so maybe they were part of that co-gory of youngsters.

I have come across someone calling someone a numpty (idiot) and the other person really upset as they thought they were being called a paedophile.

I have used/heard used in both north and south, definitely not offensive. It’s my go to affectionate gibe when the toddler is being a goof! I think it’s less offensive than twit even.

I'm up in the North east, so a fair bit away from you.

I've lived all over Scotland and there seems to be little pockets of places who use it as a term of endearment and then other places who really don't 🤣

I lived in England for a while too, and they really didn't like to have a casual "cunt" dropped into conversation, instead of the word "somebody" 🤣

West midlands and this is exactly right

I'm in Ireland. Not used that often but used for when people do silly trivial stuff like:

Left your keys in the door
Went to shop without wallet
Missed your turn in motorway
Founding missing TV remote in fridge etc

It's not insulting. It's for mild acts of madness.

North West and it is it offensive, just someone who is silly.

I'm from London, and 'numpty' isn't meant to shame or embarrass anyone, children or otherwise. I would say it's used when someone has done something that they are fully aware was a bit daft and it's an affectionate way of acknowledging it. My family would use it interchangeably with 'doofus' and 'daft ha'porth'.

An example might be a child coming downstairs dressed for school but in bare feet, and you'd say 'What's happened to your socks?' and they laugh and say 'Oops! I forgot them!' and you'd say something like 'Haha, go and put some on, you numpty'. It's a gentle, affectionate sort of thing for when someone's done something harmlessly daft.

In Scotland it’s “ah ya dafty” with loads of affection.

It means the same everywhere and the person was clearly confused

I've only know it as mild and affectionate silly - grew up midland live in south and couple of northern cities and s wales.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1453_uptodate3/page16.shtml#:~:text=Very%20gentle%20word.,have%20done%20better%20than%20that'.

Numpty. N-U-M-P-T-Y. Numpty. Gentle word. Very gentle word. It feels to me like 'silly billy' or 'you novice!' It means somebody who displays a lack of knowledge or a lack of awareness. I've often heard it used as an endearment - 'oh, you great numpty', meaning, you know, 'you should have done better than that'. 'Silly billy' is the best gloss for it, I think.

But in some parts of the country and in some people's usage it's a bit stronger and you can hear the difference in the tone of voice. I mean, I've heard somebody say about a driver of a car 'that numpty's talking on his mobile phone while he was driving' and that's a stronger usage, it means more, you know, 'that idiot', 'that prat', 'that numskull' - he's so stupid that even the simplest things are beyond him, that's the kind of nuance there.

So it has a wide range of usage from quite gentle to quite strong. And then it's developed, of course, as time goes by. I've heard the plural of it - numpties, especially for politicians, 'politicians are numpties'. The number of times I've heard that! And also a noun, an abstract noun, numptiness - I don't think that's used very much but I have heard it once or twice - 'the numptiness of our politicians'.

And in 2007, it was Scotland's favourite word. I CAN, the charity, did a survey of the favourite words of different parts of the country and Scotland voted for numpty!

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/04/britishidentity.features11

Derived from "numps", an obsolete word for a stupid person, rather than the more obvious numbnuts or numbskull, the term implies general idiocy.

Yorkshire here and like most other people its not offensive at all, its affectionate.
In fact one of DH's friends went by "Numpt", which was a shortening of it.

I actually prefer "Wazzock" but I think that is exclusively Yorkshire

I live in the west of Ireland too and I've heard it many times! It's not seen as offensive

South West - not offensive, someone being a bit daft.

Scotland and definitely its for affectionate use!

Love daft 'apeth. And silly goose

Houseinawood · Today 13:35
"East Anglia here - not offensive just means someone a bit daft
It means a bit daft but there a phase where young people were using it (incorrectly) to call someone a sexual percent so maybe they were part of that co-gory of youngsters."

Well, I assume 'percent' was a typo for pervert, but 'co-gory'? Is that really an abbreviation of category? I've never seen that before.

I’m a Scot and would use it in the same way as daftie or muppet. Very mild “silly billy” energy insult.

Same level or mildly worse than silly billy…not offensive

Millions of people live in that area, of course they use numpty as an affectionate word, youre not the spokesperson for then all 😁

Derbyshire here. Not offensive.

Scotland agree a mild "don't be daft" type insult not insulting. I rarely call an adult a numptie to their face though but may say it to a child if they do something silly but not in a nasty way.

I honestly have never heard the word 'numpty' being used as an affectionate word or term of endearment.

Where on earth did i say that i was a spokesperson for everyone in London. I was replying to the OP on a public forum who said she lived in the SE and she uses it and i replied saying i live in the same area and have never heard of 'numpty' being used as a term of endearment. The person calling that name to a child might think that way but, i am sure that the child being called a numpty wouldnt see it like that.

Sweetie, Lovely, Special - Yes.

Numpty - No!

Wales, yep eejit or numpty works here.