Who is your thinking man's (or woman's) crumpet?

[Rrose_Selavy]

This a term familiar to us in the Uk, but I don’t know if it has traveled. The wiki link gives a basic intro.

Anyway I thought it would be fun to start a thread -

eg the young Joan Bakewell - from whom the term originally became popular in the late 60s

In British English, the term thinking man’s crumpet refers to any woman who is intelligent and good looking, particularly one who has a high profile in the broadcast media. It derives from the slang “crumpet” to refer to a woman who is regarded as an object of sexual desire, which is itself an association with the crumpet, a baked product usually eaten warm after being toasted and spread with butter.[1]

Perhaps the first person to be considered “thinking man’s crumpet” was Joan Bakewell, christened thus by humorist Frank Muir following her appearances in high-brow television discussion programmes such as BBC2’s Late Night Line-Up.[2] The term has subsequently been applied to high-profile women such as Anne Gregg,[3] Joanna Lumley,[3] and Felicity Kendal,[3] and, more recently, Helen Mirren[4] and Gillian Anderson.[5] In a poll in the Radio Times in 2003, Nigella Lawson received the most votes to be the readers’ “thinking man’s crumpet”,[6] with Carol Vorderman in second place.[7]

The phrase is occasionally reversed, to refer to “thinking woman’s crumpet”,

Thinking man's/woman's crumpet

this is her interviewing Marcel Duchamp

Duchamp interviews

So who are your candidates?

They can be scientists, news presenters, authors , politicians, artists etc
Anyone who is primarily known for other than their looks or in the case of actors has often become identified with certain iconic roles

[Zeldar]

Salma Hayek

[panache45]

. . . not to be confused with a thinking man’s strumpet.

[Purd_Werfect]

…or a stinking man’s trumpet.

[Wendell_Wagner]

Since most Americans have no idea who Carol Vorderman is, I thought I would provide a link to her Wikipedia entry so they can see why she is considered to be in this category:

Carol Vorderman

[Chronos]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and nominate Kari Byron, even though I’m sure the entire rest of the board will disagree with me.

[Lamia]

Writer Neil Gaiman is considered a total hottie by many bookish ladies. (Trust me, I’m a librarian.) This is despite the fact that he’s perpetually in need of a haircut.

[Torpor_Beast]

Mine would be Ariane Sherine

And, some of you might recognize this one…

[Alessan]

Tina Fey?

[Todderbob]

It’s sad that I honestly don’t know any high profile, attractive women off the top of my head, I suppose.
I know quite a few low profile, sexy women… but no one really famous.

[Torpor_Beast]

@Alessan

Tina Fey?

Yeahhhh… She seems like the stereotypical “nerd hottie”, so I figured she’d be an obvious candidate for the “thinking man’s crumpet”-title for many men.

How about a less obvious one? Megan Fox. Based on her interviews up on Youtube, she seems decently smart. And she’s certainly “high profile”. Bonus points for the “FFS, I’ve been hugging a Twilight pillow”-bit.

[Boyo_Jim]

Yup, Tina Fey was the first name that came to mind.

Christiana Amanpour (I may be misspelling her name) comes to mind as well.

[GuanoLad]

I would say Danica McKellar. I was expecting her to be mentioned much earlier.

[LunarPlexus]

Your thinking may vary, but Janeane Garofalo.

[HotSmoke]

Anderson Cooper. He’s hot,smart and rich…although rumor has it that he is gay.

[sciurophobic]

@Lamia

Writer Neil Gaiman is considered a total hottie by many bookish ladies. (Trust me, I’m a librarian.) This is despite the fact that he’s perpetually in need of a haircut.

According to my bookish wife, it’s because of the haircut, not despite it.

[KennerTheGreat]

Those of us who watch The Weather Network in Canada, especially in the afternoons, will be very familiar with Suzanne Leonard.

[maladroit]

@Lamia

Writer Neil Gaiman is considered a total hottie by many bookish ladies. (Trust me, I’m a librarian.) This is despite the fact that he’s perpetually in need of a haircut.

or because of

[Rrose_Selavy]

Historian, author, & presenter Bettany Hughes

Comedian Lucy Porter

[Bridget_Burke]

As a thinking woman, Alan Rickman comes to mind…