# What is "mopery?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2001, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096 "2001-02-19T18:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/21 "2017-04-25T17:26:49Z")
So only John Doe, Jane Doe, and Richard Roe can be accused of mopery? Do we know they were in 8th century Spain with long-handled cleaning implements? ---
**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:** [April 25, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/22 "2017-04-25T17:30:58Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > So only John Doe, Jane Doe, and Richard Roe can be accused of mopery? Do we know they were in 8th century Spain with long-handled cleaning instruments? I believe it was the wimminfolk that used the long-handled cleaning instruments, therefore while Jane Doe could be charged with Mopery, John Doe and Richard Roe would be charged with Dopery. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/23 "2017-04-25T17:37:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Wrong. Those were the Moops. I thought it was the Boors, but that didn’t happen until it became a tourist destination. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/24 "2017-04-25T19:18:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No, Mopery-based on Ye Olde Englishe spelling for “a wig tied to the end of stick”. I thought that was spelled “R-A-G-G M-O-P-P”? ---
**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:** [April 25, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/25 "2017-04-25T19:22:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > No, I’m telling you it was the Mopes :mad: You must live in a bubble. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/26 "2017-04-26T05:44:58Z")
I have the impression Mopery includes such offenses as Driving/Walking/Window Shopping While Black/Hispanic/etc. In my younger days, a guy having long hair would do it. They need some sort of crime to arrest you for before they can nail you for Resisting Arrest. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/27 "2017-04-26T08:41:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Wrong. Those were the Moops. That’s so Trivial. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/28 "2017-04-26T09:31:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It’s a lesser included offense of dopery. > > Or is it the other way around? > > [IANAL](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=211820). Oh … wow. Hard to believe it’s been so many years since that thread. > [@Ludovic](#): > > No, I’m telling you it was the Mopes :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: MOOPS! I love this place. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/29 "2017-04-26T12:27:32Z")
Are mopes related to mooks? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/30 "2017-04-26T15:39:12Z")
My personal favorite form of mopery that I ever saw in a law school hypothetical was “aggravated mopery with intent to creep.” ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/31 "2017-05-02T20:09:15Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Are mopes related to mooks? Quiet, you! ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/32 "2017-05-03T05:12:07Z")
Is this not a somewhat common verb? i.e. To mope about, to sulk. Never heard the term mopery before, do not know if it is at all related. To me ‘mope’, or more commonly ‘moping’ does not seem archaic. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096/33 "2017-05-03T09:12:13Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > Is this not a somewhat common verb? i.e. To mope about, to sulk. Never heard the term mopery before, do not know if it is at all related. To me ‘mope’, or more commonly ‘moping’ does not seem archaic. Agreed, though for me it’s almost always “mope around.” I grew up in 70s-80s New York metro – could it be (or have been) more popular in some regions than in others? When I saw the thread title just now, I assumed it was referring to a real crime – loitering, perhaps. It seems an odd choice for a “placeholder” or joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mopery/55096.md?page=1)