walking carpet

English

WOTD – 4 May 2019

Etymology

From a scene in the film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977), in which Princess Leia insults Chewbacca, a member of a race of hairy bipeds called Wookiees, by referring to him as a “walking carpet”.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːkɪŋ ˈkɑːpɪt/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔkɪŋ ˈkɑɹpɪt/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Hyphenation: walk‧ing car‧pet

Noun

walking carpet (plural walking carpets)

(slang, derogatory or humorous) An exceptionally hairy person.
- 2003, Jonathan Cohen, chapter 2, in Bear Like Me: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Southern Tier Editions/Harrington Park Press, →ISBN; republished Maple Shade, N.J.: Bare Bones Books, Lethe Press, 2011, →ISBN, page 18:
  “Really.” Mac arched a thick eyebrow. “You didn't say anything about my body hair when we were going out together.” / Peter kept his eyes on the espresso and away from Mac's hairy wrist. “You're not like...that guy. You're not a walking carpet. And my God, you've got muscle definition.”
- 2003, Bhargavi C. Mandava, “To Apu, with Love”, in Ophira Edut, editor, Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image‎^[1], 2nd expanded and updated edition, Emeryville, Calif.: Seal Press, →ISBN, archived from the original on 13 December 2018, page 72:
  But then my true hair problems began. […] It was all the other hairs rearing their ugly heads—between my eyebrows, above my upper lip, around my jawline, down my neck, around my new breasts, down my front to my navel, over my arms and knuckles, right down my legs to my toes. I didn't recall ever seeing a woman shaving her face and "taking it all off' on that Noxema commercial. None of the other girls at school appeared to be walking carpets.
- 2011 August 7, Rightardia [username], “Transgender Stories – Troy! – Chapter 1”, in alt.politics‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <j1ksqd$fjv$1@speranza.aioe.org>:
  I had *some* chest hairs, but it wasn't nearly as much as some guys I've seen (there were a couple of guys I saw in the locker room at school, both seniors, who were practically walking carpets).

Translations

(slang) exceptionally hairy person

Serbo-Croatian: runjavac (sh) m, runjavica (sh) f

References

^ Laurent Bouzereau (1997) Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays: Star Wars: a New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 76: “HAN: Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight! I take orders from just one person! Me! / LEIA: It's a wonder you're still alive, (looking at Chewie) Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?”

[1] Laurent Bouzereau (1997) Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays: Star Wars: a New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 76: “HAN: Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight! I take orders from just one person! Me! / LEIA: It's a wonder you're still alive, (looking at Chewie) Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?”

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