bimbo

Definition

A physically attractive person, typically a woman or otherwise feminine in appearance, who lacks intelligence.

Etymology

From Italian bimbo (“a child, a male baby”), variant of bambino (“child”). Originated in Italian American theater, attested 1919, as “stupid, inconsequential man”, by 1920 developed sense of “floozie, attractive and stupid woman”. Popularized in 1920s by Jack Conway of entertainment magazine Variety, who also popularized baloney (“nonsense”) and palooka (“large stupid man”). Revived in popularity in 1980s US political sex scandals.

Example Sentences

• "Anyway, to make a long, dull story even duller, I come from a time when a guy like me used to come into a joint like this and pick up a young chick like you and… call her a ‘bimbo’."
• "a. 1992, P. J. O’Rourke, a sketch A bimbo is a woman who is not pretty enough to be a model, not smart enough to be an actress, and not nice enough to be a poisonous snake."
• "[Tina] Fey […] makes hay with the thought processes of a purebred bimbo: […]"

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