# a nickname for a klutz



## Mistique (Apr 28, 2014)

He, there, I need a little help. I'm not very good at making up nicknames - especially negative ones. Maybe because I would never use them as I don't like intentionally hurting people. I do however need a (and probably a few others later on) nicknames for certain characters in my book. Hopefully you can help me 

The first I need a nickname for is a young girl (about 15 years old) who is growing up in a harsh female run society (there are no males in this place at all). They are witches and this particular tribe is known for their cruelty. They appreciate attributes like being ambicious, being cruel, being powerful and so on. Emotions - especially love - they would consider a weakness. This particular girl is insecure and because of that she isn't very good at magic. She tends to fail when others succeed. She is also the daughter of the head of this tribe and therefore girls her age tend to be envious. Girls her age - and their mothers probably too - tend to get aggrivated by the fact that a witch of so little skill is in a position of that much power and they would feel that they - or in case of the mothers their daughters - would be far more suitable to take over leadership some day.

So I need a nickname - or several - that the girls her age (and their mothers) would use to show their contempt of this clumbsy and (in their eyes) useless witch. Something that expresses how they feel that she is unworthy. Preferably not something standard like dumbo or stupid. Any help you can give me would be aprreciated.


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## escorial (Apr 28, 2014)

melt!


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## N J Xkey (Apr 28, 2014)

Squib? As in "damp squib" - something for which there is an expectation that turns out to be disappointing?


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## Gargh (Apr 28, 2014)

Squib is used in Harry Potter to describe people of magical lineage who have no magic. It might be Rowling's own use of the term and specific to the HP series. 

How about using something that would not be otherwise negative? You've described an unusual aggressive matriarchy, that flips traditional values, so why not flip some terms too? I can't think of anything off-hand, but nicknames we have like 'star-gazer' cross over the endearing/enraging line as a character description quite easily. 

The position of 'Empath' could be seen as substandard to witch, and used in a derisory fashion?


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## N J Xkey (Apr 28, 2014)

Ooops! Sorry I hadn't realised that! I was only remembering "muggle", I've read the books as well. Damn memory like a sieve! Sorry!


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## bazz cargo (Apr 28, 2014)

Weasel, Toad, Beetle Breath, Fogget, Sticky End, Chuzzlewit, Nit Flit, Badger's Bum.


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## bookmasta (Apr 28, 2014)

Pudge.


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## Lewdog (Apr 28, 2014)

Twinkle toes.  Thumbsy.


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## Bishop (Apr 28, 2014)

Can we get a name to rhyme it with or create puns out of?


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## Gargh (Apr 28, 2014)

Thinking about it, I had a manager once who was a bit of a shambles and everyone used to just call her The Mess. I think that's quite a cruel one.


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## Mistique (Apr 28, 2014)

Thank you all for the idea's  they are very usefull

 Thanks, Garth. That's not a bad idea at all. The flipping of terms that is. I'll have to give that some thought..

 Bishop: Her name is Kanika.

Just to give some more specific information about that might be helpful: She sucks at making fireballs. Her grandmother is the head of the tribe and her mother should have taken over by now, but failed to complete the transition ritual (to sacrifice her firstborn child). Kanika is het second child (so not the one who needed to be sacrificed). Her mum is not a 'real' or 'mature' witch because of that. Kanika gets tormented with that quite a lot; that her mum isn't real and neither is she. That is the one thing that will get to her the most. Her main bullies are Samia and Bisa and their mothers Morowa and Dara.

While you are at it, I would also love some nicknames for her mother. This is a 39 year old witch. Her name is Aleyah. She is quite the opposite from Kanika as she has most of the qualities that one would wish for in this tribe. She is very skilled as a witch. She is cruel, vendictive, seductive and manipulative. She would make the perfect leader except that she failed the ritual and that is a big deal around these witches. The adult witches are furious that someone like her, who isn't even a real witch, still holds that much power. They don't openly confront Aleyah as they are quite scared of her, but also because Kabira (Aleyah's mother and Kanika's grandmother)'s hold over the group is quite strong. They do use nicknames about Aleyah behind her back.


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## T.S.Bowman (Apr 28, 2014)

Just have the other witches call her "Graceless" in a tone of extreme derision.


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## Cran (Apr 29, 2014)

Mistique said:


> ... in a harsh female run society (*there are no males in this place at all*)...  *Emotions - especially love - they would consider a weakness. *


So, assuming males are known in the world although not tolerated in this society, anything which suggests masculinity, male empathy, or - horror of horrors - boyfriends, would have to rate high on the insult scale. 



Mistique said:


> Her name is *Kanika*.


Possibilities here with "trash-Kan" or similar takes on "can" as a receptacle, "Kan't" as in "can not"; even "Ka-ka", meaning something best flushed down a toilet or recycled into fertiliser, but which might also be a natural shortening of her name as spoken by an infant. 



> She sucks at making fireballs.


Matches?


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## cazann34 (Apr 29, 2014)

clumsy clot, learner, novice, calamity-Jane, Wotzik, no-hoper,


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## Mistique (Apr 29, 2014)

Cran said:


> So, assuming males are known in the world although not tolerated in this society, anything which suggests masculinity, male empathy, or - horror of horrors - boyfriends, would have to rate high on the insult scale.
> 
> Possibilities here with "trash-Kan" or similar takes on "can" as a receptacle, "Kan't" as in "can not"; even "Ka-ka", meaning something best flushed down a toilet or recycled into fertiliser, but which might also be a natural shortening of her name as spoken by an infant.
> 
> Matches?



Thank you. Especially the first bit (about males) might work well for Aleyah. There are males in the world. In the human population and there are two male run witch tribes (and one more female one). Red witches, the tribe Aleyah and Kanika are in, seduce human males to get pregnant and then use black magic to Ensure that no male children are born. So they mate with human males. Normally they kill those males after they have become pregnant, but Aleyah failed to do so (as she had stronger feelings for him than she was willing to admit and she was quite young at the time). So a nickname referring to her being 'the in love' type might work.

For now I have put Kanika's nickname as Kan-ni. Its the dutch version of your Kan't. Kan-ni would be short for 'kan niet' which' translates as 'can not'.


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## Morkonan (Apr 29, 2014)

Mistique said:


> ....So I need a nickname - or several - that the girls her age (and their mothers) would use to show their contempt of this clumbsy and (in their eyes) useless witch. Something that expresses how they feel that she is unworthy. Preferably not something standard like dumbo or stupid. Any help you can give me would be aprreciated.



"Glass"

The reason I choose this is due to its nature and its qualities as a symbol, metaphor or simile. The students call her "Glass" because she breaks things, since she's a klutz. Others call her "Glass" because she's fragile and weak. But, those close to her accept her nickname as "Glass" and help her to accept it because she's insightful and enables those around her to interpret their problems more clearly. Lastly, her nickname of "Glass" is aptly metaphorical - She's dangerous, even more so if her barriers have been broken.


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## J Anfinson (Apr 29, 2014)

The initials A.P.? (for accident prone)

Slick?


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## Lewdog (Apr 29, 2014)

Fumblelina.


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## ethreal (Apr 30, 2014)

Since she is terrible at creating fireballs how about wet-wood? If The mother failed the ritual and others feel that she is unworthy of her position they might call her a sham, or a fraud?


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## Mans (May 1, 2014)

Ratty  - Shady- Grinder- Caddy-  Gross


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## Mistique (May 5, 2014)

Morkonan said:


> "Glass"
> 
> The reason I choose this is due to its nature and its qualities as a symbol, metaphor or simile. The students call her "Glass" because she breaks things, since she's a klutz. Others call her "Glass" because she's fragile and weak. But, those close to her accept her nickname as "Glass" and help her to accept it because she's insightful and enables those around her to interpret their problems more clearly. Lastly, her nickname of "Glass" is aptly metaphorical - She's dangerous, even more so if her barriers have been broken.



That one is very nice. Thanks.


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## Mistique (May 5, 2014)

J Anfinson said:


> The initials A.P.? (for accident prone)
> 
> Slick?



she's not really accident prone, she's clumsy at magic. She simply cant pull a lot of the spells off.

- - - Updated - - -



Lewdog said:


> Fumblelina.



That is so cute


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## Mistique (May 5, 2014)

ethreal said:


> Since she is terrible at creating fireballs how about wet-wood? If The mother failed the ritual and others feel that she is unworthy of her position they might call her a sham, or a fraud?



they would consider her a sham, but im looking for something more personal.


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## Mistique (May 5, 2014)

Mans said:


> Ratty  - Shady- Grinder- Caddy-  Gross



Not bad, thanks.


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## Greimour (May 5, 2014)

Kanika the Freak-a

***

I didn't read all replies, but you can definitely get inventive with some of the ideas I have seen posted.

When I read: "Nickname for a Klutz" I instantly thought of synonyms like oaf, dullard, bungler, lummox... etc...

Childs rhyme sung on the street by other kids dancing and skipping in circles:

"Kanika, Kanika - the magic seeker. 
Tries to be strong but theirs no one weaker."

*giggles from troupe of girls*

"Kanika, Kanika with no magic to send,
can't cast a spell, can't make a friend"

*Troupe giggles again*

(The song came from childrens inventiveness when it comes to evil, ominous, deathly or dark. Think:
 'ring-a-ring-of-roses, pocket full of posies, a tissue a tissue, we all fall down.'
- If memory serves, children made that up during the black plague... it's also where "bless you" comes from after someone sneezes. Though all of that is debatable and there is nothing factual I am aware of to prove any of it. )


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## Pluralized (May 5, 2014)

Tundersnugs

Ballsgob-la

Tweezle-Stoinks!

Clumsytits

Sorry, I just like making up funny words.


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## Newman (May 5, 2014)

Mistique said:


> So I need a nickname - or several - that the girls her age (and their mothers) would use to show their contempt of this clumbsy and (in their eyes) useless witch. Something that expresses how they feel that she is unworthy. Preferably not something standard like dumbo or stupid. Any help you can give me would be aprreciated.



Gump


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## Morkonan (May 6, 2014)

Mistique said:


> That one is very nice. Thanks.



Re: "Glass"

While the original source is inside the lofty open spaces of my head, there is a fictional movie character named "Mr. Glass" in the movie "Unbreakable. I just remembered that this very moment. However, the "Mr. Glass" in the movie gets his name from a medical condition that makes his bones extremely brittle. If one was concerned about such a name, any number of metaphors or synonyms for "glass" could be appropriate, as long as the reference is easily understood. For instance, "Pane", due to its written form, might be easily seen through by the Reader... Sorry, couldn't resist. Plus, it has other uses, being a homophone for "pain."

Still, I like "Glass" best in its straightforward use. I just had to bring up the previous and similar use for a fictional movie character.


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