Tired of describing political supporters as “andhbhakts”, “godi” or “paid followers”? Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has a rather unusual addition to the political vocabulary: "quockerwodger".
Known for introducing social media users to obscure and often tongue-twisting English words, the Thiruvananthapuram MP has once again turned heads by suggesting the term as an alternative to the familiar political jibes.
He also shared its meaning: a political puppet or someone who is controlled by another person and acts on their instructions.
In his post, Tharoor said, "For those tired of describing people as 'andhbhakts', 'godi', 'paid followers' and the like, an acceptable alternative?"
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 years," he said.
Interestingly, words like "andhbhakts" and "godi media" are often used by the government's critics to describe the BJP's hardcore supporters and a section of the media which they claim pushes the government's narratives.
The author-politician-wordsmith has often left social media users scurrying for their dictionaries to confirm whether such a word indeed exists.
Tharoor has also taken digs at the BJP government using rarely used words such as 'allodoxaphobia', which he explained as an irrational fear of opinions.
In the past, he has also stumped people with words such as 'farrago' and 'troglodyte.' While 'farrago' means a confused mixture, a 'troglodyte' means a person regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.
(With Inputs From PTI)