Timeline for Is it common to use "mule" to refer to stupidity?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
26 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19, 2015 at 9:25 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackEnglish/status/645166717325471744 | ||
| Sep 15, 2015 at 10:46 | history | protected | Andrew Leach♦ | ||
| Sep 12, 2015 at 7:05 | comment | added | Sven Yargs | A stump is another popular object of comparison for dumbness in common usage. | |
| Sep 12, 2015 at 6:03 | comment | added | Beta | ...Oh, and dinosaur refers to a person whose thinking is deeply and irredeemably outdated. | |
| Sep 12, 2015 at 5:59 | comment | added | Beta | The phrase "you dumb ox!" springs to mind, but it refers to people who are big, strong and stupid. There are many English expressions for stupidity (e.g. dumb as a bag of hammers"), but (strangely) not many of them use animals. | |
| Sep 12, 2015 at 3:54 | answer | added | Wo0dy | timeline score: 0 | |
| Sep 12, 2015 at 2:30 | comment | added | Hot Licks | (Just to make it clear: No, it's not common to use "mule" to imply stupidity.) | |
| Sep 12, 2015 at 1:36 | answer | added | Engineer | timeline score: 0 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 18:25 | answer | added | Feralthinker | timeline score: 2 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 16:57 | answer | added | bib | timeline score: 2 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 16:13 | answer | added | anol | timeline score: 3 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 13:55 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | @FumbleFingers the question title makes this quite clear. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 13:23 | answer | added | Julie Carter | timeline score: 4 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:43 | review | Close votes | |||
| Sep 19, 2015 at 3:03 | |||||
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:36 | comment | added | Hot Licks | Well, turkeys are supposedly quite stupid, and the now-extinct dodos had that reputation as well. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:36 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | You should tell us explicitly what you are like in the context of math (do you stubbornly resist being taught, stubbornly persist in trying to learn, or something else?). If you have a dilletante attitude, you might be a butterfly. If you voraciously devour all aspects of the subject, perhaps you're a gannet. Etc., etc. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:36 | answer | added | MattBecker82 | timeline score: 2 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:34 | comment | added | Fattie | Why the hell would anyone vote this question down? It's a great question. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:33 | comment | added | Fattie | Hey @Jano what's up. The simple answer is no. In English, "mule" signifies stubborn. The sentence given sounds wrong, like it was written by a non-English speaker. Just as a curiosity, "mule" is also a word used in AmE in the "illegal drug trade" (so if you watch a TV show like Breaking Bad or whatever, you'll hear it a lot.) | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:29 | answer | added | chasly - supports Monica | timeline score: -1 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:28 | answer | added | skrile | timeline score: 3 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:26 | comment | added | user66974 | Dunce : a person who is stupid or slow to learn. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:24 | answer | added | Mari-Lou A | timeline score: 18 | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:19 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | Stubbornness is usually associated with mules, and sometimes hardworking. I'd say ass is the one you're thinking of. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:19 | comment | added | Robusto | It was a productive metaphor back in the days when people had actual experience with mules. | |
| Sep 11, 2015 at 12:13 | history | asked | wyc | CC BY-SA 3.0 |