Saturday, September 11, 2010

What's the origin of the word "nonplussed"?


Search
: non-plussed

Why
: Chandler told Maddie she was looking very nonplussed.
Answer: It comes from Latin non plus, "no more, no further," as in "nothing more can be done."
To be nonplussed is to be at a total loss as to what to say or do, "utterly perplexed; completely puzzled."
It doesn't mean "unimpressed" or "indifferent," in case you thought it did:
It does (more or less) mean "fazed" but does not mean "unfazed."
Source: The Mavens' Word of the Day

The More You Know: This creepy thing is called "Nonplussed by Nonuplets," and I officially hate it.
There's a whole gross weird site of these pics called Living in Sim. OK.