A Now a Word From Keith

I was listening to an audio book in the car on my way to work today and a word was used that made me chuckle. I knew I had heard it before. I knew it was an archaic word. I just couldn’t remember where I had heard it.

Popinjay

I kept thinking about that word. Where had I heard it before. The more I thought about it, I eventually remembered the sentence I heard it in.

“It’s your move, Popinjay.”

It drove me crazy. So I looked it up when I got to work.

Popinjay (POP-in-jey) Noun: (1) A vain or conceited person, especially one who dresses or behaves extravagantly. (2) A person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop. (3) A strutting supercilious person. (4) A woodpecker, especially the green woodpecker. (5) The figure of a parrot usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting. (6) An actual parrot.

When I read the definition, I thought more. Then I did a search on Google. As I typed in, “It’s your move, Popinjay” before the results showed up, I had it.

In History of the World Part 1, Mel Brooks is the Louis the 16th of France and he is playing chess with real people as the pieces. He says to his opponent, “It’s your move, Popinjay” and as in any Mel Brooks film, chaos ensues.