A listener in Park City, Utah, says she and her fellow ski enthusiasts are having heated debates about the word nonplussed. It originally meant “at a loss,” from Latin non plus, meaning “no more,” suggesting a situation in which one can go no further, as in an argument. Perhaps because of confusion with nonchalant, the expression nonplussed also acquired the meaning of “not bothered.” Both meanings now exist side by side, and linguists regard nonplussed as a skunked word. In other words, its use has become so problematic and contentious that it’s best to choose a different word altogether. This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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