Authors need to start getting creative with their insults for Dumbledore. When almost every single story uses "old man" or "old goat" as an insult, it gets extremely boring. We get it: Dumbledore is old and his brother played with goats. No shit.

What other clichéd/done-to-death insults have you come across? Suggestions for new ones?

 

"Dumb-as-a-door" only sounded appropriate when spoken by a boy who was no more than thirteen years old. After that, a more creative insult is needed.

 

Harry should rarely if ever resort to insults. The kid has the entire future of the wizarding world on his shoulders. If anyone is doing anything that in anyway impacts his own abilities to fight, he ought to follow one of one options.

1) Overwhelming Force.

That is it. If it's not a hinderance, Harry just doesn't have the time to worry about it. Malfoy calls Hermione a mudblood, who cares. Malfoy starts plotting ways to bring Death Eaters into the school, kill him, kill him dead.

This goes double for Dumbeldore or Riddle. Harry either needs to keep his head down, or if he's capable, throw a punch so hard that his opposition doesn't have time to recover. Calling Dumbledore 'old man' or 'dumbie door' is not only childish and unworthy of a supposed hero, but in a school where even the paintings have ears, remarkably stupid.

 

What really gets my goat (Ha silverlasso) is a character I overusing the same swear word more the twice in a line of dialogue. "Fucking Dumbledore and his fucking Order of the fucking Flaming chicken, the fuckers!" - sign of immature writing. I don't think Harry should have to resort to cursing at all; that's Ron's area of expertise. The hero shouldn't emulate the underdeveloped Ginger.

 

Don't forget "old coot". Seriously, what is a coot and why is Dumbledore one? I can't stand this one because it's seriously in like every other fic. People need to come up with some new shit.

 

Dumbles is one I've come across repeatedly. And yes, the repetitive shit gets old after a few paragraphs.

 

I don't know... I think addressing him as "Supreme Mugwump, Sir" with utter sincerity is a bit more insulting. But I agree that insults should be used sparingly, if at all, and never in emotionally charged situations. For one, it just sounds stupid and childish. For the other, it's pathetic. Going around calling everyone old insert-farm-animal-here is not going to win Harry any respect. It would be more likely to make the adults think his is an immature child that needs to be coddled.

Also, Rowling really stresses the importance of given names in HP (as the oh-so-interesting debate in the Potter Law thread emphasizes). Like Dumbledore calling Voldemort "Tom" to throw him off balance, and the whole Snape-Prince thing. Calling someone an insulting nickname would put them in the more powerful position, so to speak, in Rowling-verse.

 

I have to agree. These insults have got to go. They're very old now, you see them in too many stories nowadays. It's rather ridiculous.

 

I'm one of the last people to object to the use of a well-placed fuck, but really, Harry's usual anti-Dumbledore arsenal of insults needs to either do some serious expansion, or cease to exist. Old man, old coot, and Dumbles just don't cut it anymore. If your Harry simply must result to insults, make them creative; use things like "senile turkey-fucker."

 

I want to see someone use an insult involving a three-way with a goat and his brother. Preferably in the Great Hall during the feast and a Silencio on his ass.

 

What is an old coot? Think Mike Gravel, Presidential Candidate.

 

Apparently, it's like gullible.[FONT=&quot] Referring [/FONT] to his believe in Snape would be my guess. It is quite stupid, really.

 

I hate Dumbledork the most.

 

Actually, I can't decide whether a child with Harry's upbringing would be rigidly polite or foul-mouthed. I could make a case for either characterism.

 

Well, if you look at canon, Harry seems to be polite all the time to his elders, with the exception of Snape, so any insults from him always seem to be OOC to me.

 

Polite usage of one of Dumbledore's over 9000 first name's would be the way to go (Like Voldemort = Tom), at least for me it is...

 

Im surprised nobody calls Albus either Wulfric, Brian or Percival in canon or even in fanon really.

 

If I see moldyshorts, dumbledork, or something like that it's over for me. Can't continue. No way.