# Oompa-Loompa = political jab ? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 15, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006 "2016-09-15T15:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/1 "2016-09-15T15:05:27Z")
> [@Did Roahl Dahl coin any adjectives that are now part of mainstream English?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-roahl-dahl-coin-any-adjectives-that-are-now-part-of-mainstream-english/765085/27): > > I thought “Oompa Loompa” referred to anyone with an orange hue and tiny hands… > [@Did Roahl Dahl coin any adjectives that are now part of mainstream English?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-roahl-dahl-coin-any-adjectives-that-are-now-part-of-mainstream-english/765085/28): > > **Moderator Note** > > Let’s avoid political jabs in GQ. No warning issued. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator I don’t get it. I don’t know much about American politics, but why is this a political jab? Not sure whether this should be in Elections or ATMB. Moderators can move as they see fit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/2 "2016-09-15T15:07:28Z")
Orange hair and tiny hands is a reference to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/3 "2016-09-15T15:10:44Z")
Donald Trump has a tan and his hair is a kind of an orange color and there have been jokes made claiming he had small hands (mainly with innuendo liking that to the size of another part of his anatomy). So “orange hue and tiny hands” is probably a Trump reference. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/4 "2016-09-15T16:39:41Z")
Am I the only one who saw the thread title and imagined Oompa-Loompas singing their signature tune? Like, as labor-union members bullying workers during a strike? OOMPA LOOMPA POLITICAL JAB DON’T BE A HYPOCRITICAL SCAB OOMPA LOOMPA DON’T MAKE US BEG GET OUT OF HERE OR WE’LL BREAK YOUR LEG ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/5 "2016-09-15T16:45:51Z")
Actually, Donald-not-a-duck allegedly has/had a very orange-hued spray tan on his face. Was it Cruz or Rubio who made the tiny hands comment, once the fur started flying about whose wife was/was not hot? There was a CBC interview with a delicatessen owner in Ontario who was selling a Trump Sandwich… white bread full of baloney, surrounded by a wall of Mexican taco chips and Russian dressing… and a tiny pickle. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/6 "2016-09-15T17:04:53Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Actually, Donald-not-a-duck allegedly has/had a very orange-hued spray tan on his face. Hard to think of any other explanation. Could any man eat that many carrots? ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/7 "2016-09-15T17:08:11Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Actually, Donald-not-a-duck allegedly has/had a very orange-hued spray tan on his face. > > Was it Cruz or Rubio who made the tiny hands comment, once the fur started flying about whose wife was/was not hot? > **[The New Yorker's latest cover hilariously mocks Donald Trump's hands](https://www.businessinsider.com/new-yorker-cover-about-trumps-hand-size-2016-3)** > > The size of Trump's hands has become a recurring joke this campaign season. Rubio. He reintroduced Spy magazine in 1988 calling Trump a short-fingered vulgarian. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/8 "2016-09-15T18:25:54Z")
Heh. I always appreciated _Spy_’s invariable first-reference description of Trump. They also always called CBS bigshot Laurence Tisch a “churlish dwarf billionaire.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/9 "2016-09-15T19:58:42Z")
It belongs in ATMB. I’ll send it there. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/10 "2016-09-15T20:32:13Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I don’t get it. I don’t know much about American politics, but why is this a political jab? > > Not sure whether this should be in Elections or ATMB. Moderators can move as they see fit. As has been explained, the post was a reference to Trump, whose hair and skin are often described as orangish and who has been called a “short-fingered vulgarian.” Calling him an Oompa Loompa was a political jab, and was so noted. It was rather mild so I just made it a note rather than a warning, but I didn’t want it to lead to a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/11 "2016-09-16T00:08:32Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Donald Trump has a tan and his hair is a kind of an orange color and there have been jokes made claiming he had small hands (mainly with innuendo liking that to the size of another part of his anatomy). _Claiming_ he had small hands? Au contraire. The Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York has a bronze casting of his right hand, which measures 7 1/4", somewhat below average for a man of average height. [This article](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-small-are-trumps-hands-916593) includes a PDF you can download and print out to compare your hand against his. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/12 "2016-09-16T00:40:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I don’t get it. I don’t know much about American politics, but why is this a political jab? > > Not sure whether this should be in Elections or ATMB. Moderators can move as they see fit. “Orange hue and tiny hands” is a reference to Donald Trump. As far as physical apperarance goes, his, um, idiosyncratic hairstyle has probably attracted the most comment, but his lurid fake tan and stubby hands have also been the subject of comment. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/13 "2016-09-16T11:11:48Z")
I will confess to being bemused by the allusion. Then again, I’m on the other side of the planet. An Oompa Loompa is a put down, and could be political, but it is taken to mean an apparatchik. Calling someone an Oompa Loompa is accusing them of being a party hack. Given “apparatchik” has clear connotations from the left, maybe Oompa Loompa could be re-minted for party hacks on the right. I guess right now, and in clear context, it might just be a reference to Trump. It seems almost anything is right now. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/14 "2016-09-16T12:25:16Z")
Like I said in the other thread, in Ireland an oompa-loompa is anyone who wears too much fake tan. md2000 isn’t the only one to [use it for Trump](http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2016/09/15/trumps-medical-records-reveal-he-is-14-oompa-loompa). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/15 "2016-09-16T12:29:36Z")
So if we’ve been using a term for 40+ years and now a political figure meets the specifications to be called by that name, we can’t use it anymore, even in passing and having nothing to do with that person? That’s like saying “brunette” is a political jab because Rubio has brown hair. It’s not that the term was created because of him, it was created earlier and he happened to fit it _and_ when it was being used it had nothing to do with him. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/16 "2016-09-16T14:39:34Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > So if we’ve been using a term for 40+ years and now a political figure meets the specifications to be called by that name, we can’t use it anymore, even in passing and having nothing to do with that person? Not in GQ. If I were to say Rubio looks exactly like Elmer Fudd and I started referring to “Elmer Fudd” whenever I was talking about Rubio in GQ, how does that help give factual answer to questions? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/17 "2016-09-16T15:30:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Not in GQ. If I were to say Rubio looks exactly like Elmer Fudd and I started referring to “Elmer Fudd” whenever I was talking about Rubio in GQ, how does that help give factual answer to questions? To be fair, that’s really not what I said, I was trying to make a point that when you take a known term, that’s been around for decades and suddenly a political figure meets that term, it doesn’t seem fair to banish the term as a political jab. I wasn’t saying Rubio looks like Elmer Fudd and then running all over the Dope substituting Elmer Fudd for Marco Rubio. I just used a simple example. I think you may have extrapolated a bit too far. If everyone goes back to that thread, it should probably be noted that Oompa Loompa was mentioned 4 or 5 times with no mention of Trump. It was Colibri that decided it was a political jab. As for GQ…how that thread managed to hang out there for almost 2 weeks, I don’t know. It really should be in CS. If you’re still going to call it a political jab, you’re going to have to find a better way to describe Oompa Loompas in a way that (often times nitpicky) posters and mods won’t find a way to say ‘that’s a political jab’. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/18 "2016-09-16T15:33:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Not in GQ. If I were to say Rubio looks exactly like Elmer Fudd and I started referring to “Elmer Fudd” whenever I was talking about Rubio in GQ, how does that help give factual answer to questions? It would help determine if he participates in rabbit season or duck season, due to second amendment rights? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/19 "2016-09-16T17:13:10Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If everyone goes back to that thread, it should probably be noted that Oompa Loompa was mentioned 4 or 5 times with no mention of Trump. Right. That’s because the thread was discussing terms invented by Roald Dahl. > [@](#): > > It was Colibri that decided it was a political jab. The reference to “tiny hands” made it obvious it was a reference to Trump. In post #5, **md2000** appears to acknowledge that he was referring to Trump. > [@](#): > > If you’re still going to call it a political jab, you’re going to have to find a better way to describe Oompa Loompas in a way that (often times nitpicky) posters and mods won’t find a way to say ‘that’s a political jab’. Nonsense. This is contradicted by the point you made above. The term wasn’t noted in the thread until someone made it into a political jab. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006/20 "2016-09-16T21:17:27Z")
So it’s not ‘oompa loompa’ that was a political jab, it’s the tiny hands thing? Got it, so no more mentioning tiny hands in GQ. Also, it may have been obvious TO YOU, but I don’t follow politics very closely and really don’t pay attention to circus surrounding it, I honesty didn’t catch the joke until you, pointed it out. Also, it’s still kind of a stretch to call it a political jab since the only thing it had to do with politics is that it was aimed at someone running for office. A similar joke could have been made about George Hamiliton and I doubt anyone would have cared. Don’t get me wrong, if actual politics were involved I understand that crosses a line, but it’s not the case here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oompa-loompa-political-jab/766006.md?page=2)