text: why is " muppet" an insult? what's insulting about calling someone a muppet? i recently moved to england and heard peopel calling each other " muppet" what exactly does it mean? i think it came from radio djs and originally refered to members of a boy band who just sang anything they were told to. no thought involved. (first time i heard it was by dominic diamond regarding westlife)  since then it became popular and a muppet is someone who talks without thinking.