Last week’s Open Dictionary word of the week was sock puppetry, defined by a reader as the act of “writing very flattering reviews of one’s own book on sites such as Amazon, but using a different name…”. It’s in the news at the moment because some popular authors were found to have used the tactic or were accused of doing so; see the Guardian for more on this story.
Sock puppetry is not limited to book reviewing – it can refer more broadly to the use of a fake identity online for the purposes of talking about oneself, typically in a self-promoting way. It also happens on Wikipedia, in discussion forums, and on blogs. Wikipedia itself has a list of notable examples of politicians, writers and businesspeople who have used sock puppets.
This repurposing of sock puppet (also sock-puppet or sockpuppet) has obvious appeal. The term conjures up pleasing images of colourful toys for children. As Laine wrote:
“The easiest new concepts to grasp are perhaps so easy because they make use of words that are as physical and familiar as a shell, or a mouse, or a sock, or a familiar gesture.”
Puppet is a later form of the older word poppet, which we now use mainly as a term of endearment (and as a brand name for a kind of confectionery). Ultimately it comes from Latin pupa, meaning girl or doll. Puppet developed its metaphorical sense – someone controlled by a more powerful person or group – as far back as the 1540s, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.
The fun and friendly feel of sock puppets, perhaps helped by puppet‘s similarity to poppet and indeed puppy, seems awkwardly at odds with the sneaky behaviour it has come to mean. At first glance the term doesn’t fit well with the usual metaphors of deception, which evoke things that are dark, down, dirty and hidden – not playful and brightly coloured. But when we look at puppet’s other metaphorical uses, we see it’s not such a leap.
In political affairs there are puppet leaders of puppet administrations (or puppet regimes) in puppet states, whose autonomy is limited because their actions are controlled or directed, like pawns, by other people. A puppet master, once a neutral term for someone who literally uses puppets such as Punch and Judy, now also indicates an underhand – pardon the pun – manipulator of other humans in a world of disquieting schemes. A bit like those Amazon reviews.Email this Post