# Q for Brits - Parliament: "The Rump" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992 "2016-09-04T01:55:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/1 "2016-09-04T01:55:23Z")
I have mentioned more than once that, over the last several years, I have been working my way through _The Cambridge Ancient/Medieval/Modern Histor[ies]_. While these histories are very educational, I have pointed out that one problem for the modern reader is that the writers are clearly writing for an early 20th-Century audience that has had the benefit of a “classical” education. This is evidenced by the writers frequently and abruptly switching into Latin to conclude their points. Currently reading about 16th Century England, I’ve encountered another assumption: reader familiarity with British … “slang”, for lack of a better term. I’ve just finished reading about the Commonwealth period, around the time of the civil war that ended with the execution of Charles I. In the writer’s descriptions of the various things that Parliament did during this period, he repeatedly refers to one subgroup of Parliament as “the Rump”. Unless I completely missed something while reading (entirely possible - I often read in bed while waiting for my sleeping pills to kick in), I didn’t see anything to inform me via context what “the Rump” was. So, Brits, a little help? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/2 "2016-09-04T02:01:34Z")
Won’t this do? > **[Rump Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_Parliament)** > > The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. > "Rump" normally means the hind end or back-side of a mammal; its use meaning "remnant" was first recorded in the above context in English in 1649.\[a\] > In September 1648, at the end of the Second English Civil War, the Long Parliament was concerned with the increa... ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/3 "2016-09-04T02:25:49Z")
Yes, thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/4 "2016-09-04T03:47:11Z")
“Rump” is slang for the bum, if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/5 "2016-09-04T04:04:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Rump” is slang for the bum, if that helps. “Bum” is slang for the ass, if that helps. Also, “ass” is slang for the buttocks. No donkeys or homeless people were in the Rump Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/6 "2016-09-04T13:18:49Z")
IME “Rump” gets used a little in current high-register US English to mean the leftovers or fading remnants of something. From my reading it seems to be common usage in present day ordinary-register British English. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/7 "2016-09-04T15:18:59Z")
The word rump also comes up occasionally in US English as a cut of meat, e.g. a rump roast. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/8 "2016-09-04T15:21:00Z")
“Rump” in this context means “small.” A rump roast is a smaller cut than a regular roast. The Rump Parliament was a smaller organization than what Cromwell confronted initially. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/9 "2016-09-04T15:25:49Z")
Sometimes I find myself wishing for a modern Cromwell who would march into Congress or the House of Commons and say as he did to the Rump: **You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!** ---
**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 4, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/10 "2016-09-04T15:44:11Z")
It was famously used by one of Chamberlain’s MPs to his face in the Norway debate of 1940. But in the original case, Cromwell was as unable to construct a lasting political system as any of the Parliaments. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/11 "2016-09-04T17:16:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Rump” in this context means “small.” A rump roast is a smaller cut than a regular roast. A rump roast is so named because it comes from the rump (hindquarters) of the animal. The origin of the sense meaning “remnant” is less clear. It may be related to an obsolete sense of _rump_ meaning the part of the tail near the body or the stump of a docked tail. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/12 "2016-09-04T20:14:04Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Sometimes I find myself wishing for a modern Cromwell who would march into Congress or the House of Commons and say as he did to the Rump: > > **You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!** So you favour an unelected dictator? Because that’s what Cromwell became once he started dismissing Parliaments. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/13 "2016-09-04T20:26:30Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > …The origin of the sense meaning “remnant” is less clear. It may be related to an obsolete sense of _rump_ meaning the part of the tail near the body or the stump of a docked tail. The wiki article on Rump Parliament, and the Online Etymology Dictionary, both claim that the general meaning “remnant” actually derives _from_ the Rump Parliament; of course, it may also be true that the usage in Rump Parliament in the first place came about the way you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/14 "2016-09-05T01:34:20Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Rump” is slang for the bum, if that helps. Nitpick: It’s not slang. _Bum_ is slang; _rump_ is standard. It’s mostly used for animals; it’s possibly slang when applied to humans. It’s also old. There are cognate words in most of the Scandinavian languages, and in a number of German dialects. > [@silenus](#): > > “Rump” in this context means “small.” A rump roast is a smaller cut than a regular roast. The Rump Parliament was a smaller organization than what Cromwell confronted initially. No, it means “arse”. The Rump Parliament was so called because it was composed of the members who remained after Pride’s Purge, in which members thought likely to oppose the trial of Charles I were removed. The term was a derogatory one, used to suggest that the Rump Parliament was composed of those who remained when anyone with brains, vision, independence etc - figuratively, the head - was removed. The association of rumps with shit, dags, maggots etc was also a relevant one - and often an explicit one, in the polemics of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/15 "2016-09-06T07:30:01Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Rump” is slang for the bum, if that helps. > [@friedo](#): > > “Bum” is slang for the ass, if that helps. > > Also, “ass” is slang for the buttocks. > [@UDS](#): > > No, it means “arse”. The Rump Parliament was so called because it was composed of the members who remained after Pride’s Purge, in which members thought likely to oppose the trial of Charles I were removed. The term was a derogatory one, used to suggest that the Rump Parliament was composed of those who remained when anyone with brains, vision, independence etc - figuratively, the head - was removed. The association of rumps with shit, dags, maggots etc was also a relevant one - and often an explicit one, in the polemics of the time. And I have read / seen it suggested (can give no cite, I’m afraid) that re the arse / ass / buttocks etc. connection: calling the assembly concerned, at the time, the “Rump Parliament” was also a pun. That which remained of Parliament after the above “purge” = those folk still sitting as members of Parliament = the “sitting part” of Parliament: thus, the part of the body which is used for sitting. The Wiki reference linked to in post #2, seems not to go into any of such figure-of-speech / wordplay stuff. One wonders which came first at the time: the pun, or the allusions to (as above) shit, dags, etc. At all events – people love puns, and one can be sure that the “sitting part” play-on-words was passed around as at the time of these late-1640s doings. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/16 "2016-09-06T07:59:41Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > And I have read / seen it suggested (can give no cite, I’m afraid) that re the arse / ass / buttocks etc. connection: calling the assembly concerned, at the time, the “Rump Parliament” was also a pun. That which remained of Parliament after the above “purge” = those folk still sitting as members of Parliament = the “sitting part” of Parliament: thus, the part of the body which is used for sitting. > > The Wiki reference linked to in post #2, seems not to go into any of such figure-of-speech / wordplay stuff. One wonders which came first at the time: the pun, or the allusions to (as above) shit, dags, etc. At all events – people love puns, and one can be sure that the “sitting part” play-on-words was passed around as at the time of these late-1640s doings. The scatological references were there right from the get-go. The very first citation which the OED has for “Rump Parliament”, from 1649, runs thus: _This fagge end, this Rump of a Parliament with corrupt Maggots in it_ That’s from a pamphlet called _Anarchia Anglicana_, so we can guess where the author’s sympathies lie. I’m not convinced by the rump:sitting pun. All Parliaments sit. The Rump Parliament was not distinguished by the fact that it sat, but by the fact that it comprised less than half of the members who had originally been summoned to Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/17 "2016-09-06T09:06:19Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > I’m not convinced by the rump:sitting pun. All Parliaments sit. The Rump Parliament was not distinguished by the fact that it sat, but by the fact that it comprised less than half of the members who had originally been summoned to Parliament. Well – the part that is still sitting as a Parliament; as opposed to the part which has been removed, and is consequently no longer doing that thing? – it seems to me, perfectly valid and quite clever wordplay. Will admit, though, that this supposed pun could be an “urban legend”, grown up at some time over the centuries ! ---
**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 6, 2016, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/18 "2016-09-06T09:24:09Z")
If it’s at all relevant, the German word Sitzfleisch denotes an ability to remain in one’s seat and survive. Same sort of underlying idea of inertia. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/19 "2016-09-06T09:44:19Z")
Huh. I was going to make a quip about the next Parliament being pared down so much it was known as the “Barebones Parliament” but apparently the correct term is “[Barebone’s Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barebone%27s_Parliament)”, named for the nominee for the City of London Praise-God Barebone (although the Parliament nickname was derived from puns on his name to comment on the greatly reduced size). The Puritans were a weird lot when it came to naming children. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992/20 "2016-09-06T14:40:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > … named for the nominee for the City of London Praise-God Barebone (although the Parliament nickname was derived from puns on his name to comment on the greatly reduced size). The Puritans were a weird lot when it came to naming children. There was the (real, not fictional) son of Puritan parents, with the given name of Except-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned. Wonder whether his friends called him Sep? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-brits-parliament-the-rump/764992.md?page=2)