halfwit

plural halfwits · alternative half-wit

1. informalSomeone lacking in intelligence.

   It has been pointed out in this space before that a number of the titles you'll find shelved under self-help in your local bookshop are, on closer examination, farragos of wooden-headed tripe, written by mountebanks and halfwits.

   2007 June 15, Oliver Burkeman, “The rise of the anti-self-help movement”, in The Guardian

   1 more example

   “Doesn't matter. That man is not the leader.” “But he is the main guy on the show.” “He is an actor, Nandor. A simpleton who paints his face. He is an empty-headed puppet who thinks the world loves him, when in actual fact, he is nothing more than a lapdog begging for scraps.” [groans] “No, he is not the leader. That would be another devil who pulls the strings. The halfwit they call the director.”

   2024 November 25, Max Brockman, “P.I. Undercover: New York” (11:26 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 6, episode 8, spoken by Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry)

   Synonyms: fuckwit, addle-brain, addlehead, addle pate, airhead, baboon, beanbrain, beetlebrain