clot

   This term has been used to refer to a foolish person, or clod, since at least the seventeenth century. In modern use it seems to be restricted to British speakers, who are far more likely to use it as a friendly insult than as a serious one. This may be connected with the comedian Jimmy Edwards, whose cry of ‘clumsy clot’ became something of a catchphrase in the 1950s. Few people would take real offence at being called ‘you clot’. A Kind of Loving, by Stan Barstow, has the following exchange: ‘“Anyway, she’s married,” I say. “How d’ye know?” Willy says. “Because she wears a wedding ring, clot, that’s how.”’ The Pumpkin Eater, by Penelope Mortimer, has: ‘“Some old General’s invaded it or something.” “Invaded what?” ‘Spain, you clot’” This is a woman talking to a woman friend. In The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, by Rumer Godden, a young English boy says to his sister: ‘You clot! Do you want someone to hear us?’