Tired of using 'andhbhakts', 'godi', Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has an alternative for you

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 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.

This is not the first time Tharoor has spoken about the word. In April 2022, he had shared its meaning and described it as a useful addition to our political vocabulary.

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.