When someone reaches for a ridiculous insult like calling people “parrot muffins”, you are watching a very specific psychological dance unfold.
Humans love hierarchy, even if it is imaginary, and when a person feels threatened, insecure, or plain unimpressive, they often grab a silly label to boost themselves. The charm of nonsense insults is that they sound playful, yet they carry a sharp little sting. The speaker gets to pretend it was all a joke while still signalling that they feel superior. It is insecurity wrapped in comedy, basically emotional bubble wrap.
There is also a social signalling element. People who rely on whimsical insults often think it makes them look witty or original. In reality, it mostly highlights the fact that they struggle to express their frustration in a straightforward, adult manner. Instead of saying “I feel undermined” or “I am embarrassed”, they shout “Look at these parrot muffins” and hope no one notices the emotional leak underneath. It is classic displacement, redirecting the uncomfortable emotion onto something harmless so they do not have to confront the real issue.
You see this behaviour everywhere and it always tells you more about the speaker than the target; here are a few examples:
At work, a manager who feels out of their depth in a meeting refers to a colleague as “the spreadsheet goblin”. It sounds lighthearted, but it is their way of masking the fact that the colleague makes them feel unprepared.
At work, a team member who received critical feedback jokingly calls the whole department “clipboard class”. It is an attempt to shift the discomfort outward rather than accept the feedback.
In friendships, someone who feels ignored might refer to others as “the latte cult”. They hide their hurt inside humour because admitting vulnerability at not being asked to go for coffee after school drop off feels too risky.
In romantic relationships, someone feeling insecure about a partner’s success may call them “a fancy certificate collector”. It comes out playful, but the jealousy is right there under the surface.
In family life, a parent overwhelmed by a chaotic day might refer to their kids as “tiny domestic tornadoes”. It is ridiculous, but it expresses the stress without admitting that they feel out of control.
The thread running through all of these is emotional displacement with a comedic mask. People weaponise nonsense because it lets them vent without looking vulnerable.
The trick is not to take the insult seriously, but to notice the emotion the speaker is trying to dodge.
Got any words you use?
References
Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., and Tice, D. M. 2007. The strength model of self control. Current Directions in Psychological Science.
Freud, A. 1936. The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. London.
Goffman, E. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Penguin.
Keltner, D., Gruenfeld, D. H., and Anderson, C. 2003. Power, approach, and inhibition. Psychological Review.
Tajfel, H., and Turner, J. C. 1979. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations.
