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What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

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Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#111

Post by adamc »

jtbayly wrote: post #8

I think I've always assumed it meant "unimpressed." That is not the "new" meaning under discussion, but they seem to hint at it when they say, "This new sense appears to stem from a mistaken belief that the first three letters of nonplus are there to indicate that someone is something other than “plussed” (although what being plussed would entail here remains a mystery)." I bet my meaning is the next change to this s…

I admit to not understanding why people assume meanings rather than look them up.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#112

Post by ilitirit »

DFHippie wrote: post #102
ilitirit wrote: post #65

On a tangential note, one of my pet peeves is the way that many people (mostly Americans?) pronounce words like "processes" as "process-eez". Words with Greek roots that end in -is or -es generally use the -eez suffix. e.g. analysis -> analyses; thesis -> theses In the case of Latin, it's -ix or -ex . e.g. index - indices, appendix - appendices. There are of course exceptions and outliers (suffix -> suffixes; octopus…

> Unless - IMO - you want to sound like a snob... Really? I think it's the opposite. One does things like this because one is afraid of being assailed by pedants and made to feel inferior. This is why, I think, I hear people, mostly British, say things like "to so-and-so and I". They're afraid to use the wrong form or the pronoun and be scolded, so they overcorrect. And about this: > in general language evolves to ha…

> One does things like this because one is afraid of being assailed by pedants and made to feel inferior.

Do you pronounce "tortoise" like "bourgeoise" because you don't want to sound inferior?

I jest, but it's like your argument is making my case for me. Replace "snob" with "pedant" to see what I mean.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#113

Post by codeulike »

A few years ago I named my number puzzle app "Numplussed" which I thought was a good name because the UK meaning of Nonplussed is "puzzled". And obviously you've got the word 'plussed' in there which is good for a maths game, and I changed the first bit from Non to Num.

But then of course it turns out to a lot of the USA it means "not fussed" which is a terrible name to give to an app.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#114

Post by crznp »

It is strange that they would claim that "non" is not a prefix but a Latin word with the same meaning as the prefix that is stuck on the front of the word.

It can still be a seperate word, but Latin "persona non grata" has the same basic meaning in English. The Latin "non plus" doesn't mean perplexed or unconcerned (e: or unimpressed), so it would be even more confusing to write it that way.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#115

Post by jonhohle »

foobarian wrote: post #69
slibhb wrote: post #23

First they came for literally and I did nothing because I wasn't a pedant. Then they came for nonplussed and I still did nothing because I'm still not a pedant. I sure hope they don't come for pedant next.

That begs the question, what will you do about it?

Begging the question, he will continue to do nothing.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#116

Post by giraffe_lady »

mbork_pl wrote: post #76
ilitirit wrote: post #65

On a tangential note, one of my pet peeves is the way that many people (mostly Americans?) pronounce words like "processes" as "process-eez". Words with Greek roots that end in -is or -es generally use the -eez suffix. e.g. analysis -> analyses; thesis -> theses In the case of Latin, it's -ix or -ex . e.g. index - indices, appendix - appendices. There are of course exceptions and outliers (suffix -> suffixes; octopus…

Sort of related: I once heard someone pronounce "testicles" like a name of a Greek hero (think Heracles), just for the lulz. I found it hilarious...

Rhyming chipotle with aristotle is another good joke in this vein. You can mangle either one it's hilarious both ways.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#118

Post by Izkata »

wongarsu wrote: post #35
jackcosgrove wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ‘Inflammable’ means flammable? What a country! -Dr Nick

That one's fun, because they don't really mean the same. It's just that there usually is no functional difference between the meanings. "to inflame" is to set something on fire. "to flame" is to be on fire. So something that's inflammable can be set on fire, something that's flammable can burn.

The way it's used on warning labels, "inflammable" means it can combust without an obvious ignition. "Flammable" needs to be set on fire from an external source.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#119

Post by giraffe_lady »

denton-scratch wrote: post #25

Merriam-Webster brags in TFA about their descriptivist reputation; and indeed, they are thw arch-descriptivists. But I'm not aware of any contemporary publisher of dictionaries that doesn't take a descriptivist stance. This places pendants like me at a serious disadvantage; I can't rely on a dictionary to help me win arguments about correct usage. "Nonplussed" is like "disgruntled"; you can't be plussed, and you can'…

> This places pendants like me at a serious disadvantage; I can't rely on a dictionary to help me win arguments about correct usage.

I feel like you're being sent a strong signal about what "correct" means re usage but refusing to heed it.

Dictionaries aren't descriptivist because of an idealogical commitment or whatever; a strictly prescriptivist stance is simply not very useful for achieving the goals that a dictionary has.

Re: What's Going on with ‘Nonplussed’? (2017)

#120

Post by Apocryphon »

This corruption of nonplussed is so annoying to me that I’d just as rather abandon its usage and consign it to an archaic listing in the dictionary. Especially because this response can be both described as nonplussed according to its original definition, and not by its emergent!
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