Meanings
plural thinking man's crumpets
- UKslangAn intelligent and good-looking woman, particularly one who has a high profile in the broadcast media.
Joan Bakewell was famously described as "the thinking man's crumpet".
Synonyms: beautiful woman
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn intelligent and good-looking woman, particularly one who has a high profile in the broadcast media.
Origin
Coined in the 1960s by Frank Muir to describe Joan Bakewell, following the latter’s appearances in high-brow television discussion programmes such as BBC2's Late Night Line-Up. From crumpet (“a sexually desirable woman (UK slang)”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
thinking man's crumpet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20man's%20crumpet
“thinking man's crumpet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20man's%20crumpet. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thinking man's crumpet,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20man's%20crumpet.
Source: thinking man's crumpet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.