In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
NONPLUSSED
NONPLUS
perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound
(verb) be a mystery or bewildering to; “This beats me!”; “Got me--I don’t know the answer!”; “a vexing problem”; “This question really stuck me”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
nonplussed (comparative more nonplussed, superlative most nonplussed)
Bewildered; unsure how to respond or act. [from 17th c.]
(proscribed, US, informal) Unfazed, unaffected, or unimpressed. [from 20th c.]
Usage notes
In recent North American English nonplussed has acquired the alternative meaning of "unimpressed". In 1999, this was considered a neologism, ostensibly from "not plussed", although "plussed" is itself a nonstandard word, seemingly a back-formation from nonplussed. The "unimpressed" meaning is proscribed as nonstandard by Ask Oxford.
Synonyms
• (bewildered): perplexed, vexed, thwarted, frustrated, foiled, confounded
Verb
nonplussed
simple past tense and past participle of nonplus
Source: Wiktionary
NONPLUS
Non"plus, n. Etym: [L. non not + plus more, further. See Plural.]
Definition: A state or condition which daffles reason or confounds judgment; insuperable difficalty; inability to proceed or decide; puzzle; quandary. Both of them are a perfect nonplus and baffle to all human understanding. South.
Non"plus`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nonplused or Nonplussed; p. pr. & vb. n. Nonplusing or Nonplussing.]
Definition: To puzzle; to confound; to perplex; to cause to stop by embarrassment. He has been nonplused by Mr. Dry's desiring him to tell what it was that he endeavored to prove. Spectator.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
10 March 2025
FABLED
(adjective) celebrated in fable or legend; “the fabled Paul Bunyan and his blue ox”; “legendary exploits of Jesse James”
Coffee Trivia
