crumpet

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) A type of savoury cake, typically flat and round, made from batter and yeast, containing many small holes and served toasted, usually with butter.
2. (UK, countable, dated, slang, uncountable) A sexually attractive person or, collectively, people; usually referring to women.
3. (Australia, UK, countable, slang, uncountable) The head.

Synonyms

fritter

griddlecake

muffin

pancake

scone

waffle

🧇

slap jack

Translations

Teekuchen

κεφάλι

τηγανίτα

είδος πλακουντίου

crêpe

crumpet

الفطيرة الصغيرة

crumpet

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkɹʌmpɪt/

Etymology

Cognate with Breton: krampouezh

Cognate with Welsh: crempog

In summary

17th century, either from crompid cake (“wafer, literally, curled-up cake”), from crompid, form of crumpen (“to curl up”); cognate to crumpled. Alternate etymology is from Celtic; compare Breton krampouezh (“crepe, pancake”) and Welsh crempog (“pancake”).
Sense of “desirable woman” attested 1936, possibly as Cockney rhyming slang for strumpet; alternatively, compare tart (“loose woman, prostitute”) (itself possibly Cockney rhyming slang for heart or sweetheart). Note that muffin has a similar sense, and that, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, "Muffins and crumpets" was a familiar street-cry in UK.