14 Comments
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Michael Woudenberg's avatar

So, Nonplussed actually means: "surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react." However, in N. America, it has begun taking an informal definition that means the exact opposite like you used it.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Irregardless of the original word's use, we here in the US really like to butcher meanings.

^ that took a LOT of willpower to type

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Michael Woudenberg's avatar

Haha. And I hate you for that effort! 🤣😘

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Sum's avatar

In Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews sings “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…”

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Sum's avatar

Or possibly, “praise, connect, praise again…

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Kind of like a compliment sandwich, right? Praise, correct, praise again.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

RIP Richard Harris. I'll always remember seeing "Cromwell" in my high school history class and being totally overwhelmed by his hamming it up in the title role.

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Daniel Nest's avatar

There's an even darker version of this, which goes "I'm not a racist, but...."

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Great example (though sinister, yes).

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Had a framed Velvet Elvis in grad school framed and lit at the end the hall, that is all.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I had a moment of obsession with Elvis. We would save relics like that, and were completely intrigued by the mythos surrounding his purported secret life he was still living. I also spent a lot of time at the Waffle House during my junior and senior years of high school, and I don't think these two things are unrelated.

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maclifer's avatar

This was my best quick effort at an homage to that scene from Talladega Nights. ChatGPT and Genuine refused but thankfully Grok isn't prudish...

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Very PG! I feel the love.

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