--- title: Harry Potter: Boris Johnson Uses 'Mugwump' as Insult description: Following Boris Johnson's use of the insult "mutton-headed old mugwump," Twitter went to work to clear up confusion over the unique snub. canonical: https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-27T19:38:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:43:10.548Z og:title: This Politician Just Used a Harry Potter Word as an Insult og:description: And the Internet doesn't know what to think og:url: https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f8626d22064bcb/69888eb18e0601dfb7465633/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Politician Just Used a Harry Potter Word as an Insult twitter:description: And the Internet doesn't know what to think twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f8626d22064bcb/69888eb18e0601dfb7465633/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Doesn't Know What to Make of This British Politician Using a _Harry Potter_ Word as an Insult  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 27, 2017 7:38 PM CUT  Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."Warner Bros.  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 27, 2017 7:38 PM CUT When in doubt over the origin of an [epic insult](http://time.com/4198073/kanye-west-wiz-khalifa-twitter-shakespeare/ "undefined"), leave it to the Internet to decipher all its possible meanings. Following British Foreign Secretary [Boris Johnson’s](http://time.com/4726215/boris-johnson-syria-assad-barbaric/ "undefined") recent denouncement of Labour leader [Jeremy Corbyn](http://time.com/4529435/10-questions-jeremy-corbyn/ "undefined") as a “mutton-headed old mugwump,” Twitter went to work to clear up confusion over the unique snub. “Boris Johnson called Corbyn a Mugwump?!,” [one user wrote](https://twitter.com/peab23/status/857463784377659392 "undefined") in reference to the politician’s criticism of Corbyn in a column for [_The_ _Sun_](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3423290/boris-johnson-slams-jeremy-corbyn-as-an-extreme-danger-to-the-uk-urging-voters-to-avoid-voting-for-him-out-of-pity/ "undefined"). “When Johnson slags you off you have to get out ye olde dictionary to understand it!” However, it quickly came to light that the word “mugwump” has roots in multiple works of fiction, including two Roald Dahl classics — _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and _The Twits_ — William S. Burroughs’ _Naked Lunch_ novel, and J.K. Rowling’s _Harry Potter_ series. But while Johnson himself [told ](http://www.esquire.co.uk/life/news/a14561/boris-johnson-mugwump-politics/ "undefined")[_Good Morning Britain_](http://www.esquire.co.uk/life/news/a14561/boris-johnson-mugwump-politics/ "undefined")he was inspired by the [words of Willy Wonka](https://twitter.com/JoeMurphyLondon/status/857475216850726912?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.esquire.co.uk%2Flife%2Fnews%2Fa14561%2Fboris-johnson-mugwump-politics%2F "undefined"), those assessing the remark from a wizarding world perspective were convinced it may have actually been a compliment. “Boris Johnson calling Corbyn a ‘mugwump’ is a bit silly given that a mugwump is the most senior judge in the Wizengamot. Duh,” [one user pointed out](https://twitter.com/TillyTeacher/status/857474769398136832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2017%2F04%2F27%2Fharry-potter-mugwump-boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn%2F "undefined"), referencing a position that Albus Dumbledore once held. Rowling, on the other hand, apparently has different thoughts on the matter. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/770958110882164736) See the reactions below. > [](https://twitter.com/OldBlackHack/status/857482815872667649) > [](https://twitter.com/JoeMurphyLondon/status/857475216850726912) > [](https://twitter.com/bbcnickrobinson/status/857483076401844224) > [](https://twitter.com/TillyTeacher/status/857474769398136832) > [](https://twitter.com/Hopeful%5FMonster/status/857494427803242497) > [](https://twitter.com/WhyToVoteGreen/status/857496775996964864) > [](https://twitter.com/SteveGforUndy/status/857479730332872704) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/"},"headline":"The Internet Doesn't Know What to Make of This British Politician Using a Harry Potter Word as an Insult","datePublished":"2017-04-27T19:38:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:43:10.548Z","description":"Following Boris Johnson's use of the insult \"mutton-headed old mugwump,\" Twitter went to work to clear up confusion over the unique snub.","url":"https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","Books","Bizarre","Harry Potter","J.K. Rowling","Boris Johnson","Jeremy Corbyn"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f8626d22064bcb/69888eb18e0601dfb7465633/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f8626d22064bcb/69888eb18e0601dfb7465633/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix","caption":"Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore in \"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix .\"","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4757843/harry-potter-boris-johnson-mugwump-insult/","name":"The Internet Doesn't Know What to Make of This British Politician Using a Harry Potter Word as an Insult"}}]}] ```