Nonplussed

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Terry calling from Chula Vista.

Hi, Terry, Chula Vista, California.

That’s correct.

Fantastic. Welcome to the program.

Thank you.

How can we help you?

Well, I’m calling about the use, the way that the word nonplussed seems to have totally flipped around on its meaning in the last few years.

I don’t know if it’s one of those words that’s going to end up flip-flopping completely in time, but when I grew up and it was used to mean perplexed at sea, completely not knowing what to do.

And now I see it more and more in all kinds of educated writings to mean a non-flappable, unfazed, unperturbed, which seems to be its opposite.

Yep. Terry, you’re exactly right on both counts.

I mean, I’m baffled and confused.

I’m nonplussed as well as how it could ever mean other than having nothing more to say, nothing more to do.

It’s like throwing up your hands in the air, right?

That’s correct. That’s how I always meant it to say.

Right. And to me, what jumps out at me… you see it as kind of an active confusion.

Well, I think of the Latin. It goes back to non, meaning non plus, which is no more.

You know, we went about as far as we can go, to quote the person in Oklahoma.

That’s what my Random House Dictionary says.

That’s what your Random House Dictionary says, right.

I imagine the correct meaning of non plus to be more just kind of like a blank stare because there’s nothing happening in there.

Well, I first realized how widespread it was when I was reading the Patricia Cornwell novel several years ago.

And her heroine, who was in the middle of a lot of chaos, absolutely unslappable, knew exactly what she was doing, and was described as being nonplussed.

I said, what?

Oh, interesting.

Wait, I’m going to take this book back for a refund, right?

She used it in several other novels.

Her most recent one, she didn’t use it, so maybe somebody clued her in.

Yeah, I’ve got a new copy.

I don’t know.

Yeah.

Well, I am nonplussed along with you, Terry.

So like Martha said, you’re right.

The original meaning is there.

It means confused, basically, or at a loss.

Right.

You can go no further.

Can’t go no further.

But the second thing is also true, which is people are using it differently now.

And there’s a theory out there about why this is so.

If you look, say, in the 1950s or so, before the meaning really started to change, you’ll see a lot of uses of nonplussed that are opaque.

It’s like it’s one of those words that belongs to the educated classes or used to and has slipped across the border into popular fiction, just like you’ve described, and into newspaper columns where in the original highly educated writing, the context isn’t clear.

I mean, you can find zillions of examples where people are using the word nonplussed or nonplussed and it’s just not clear what they meant.

And in so many of the cases, look, 1950s, it’s ambiguous as to whether the person was confused or clear-headed.

And the problem is, it’s a show-off word.

And it was then and it is now.

And when people show off their language, they tend to screw around with it and mess it up.

I suspect that’s correct.

I’m surprised now when I see it used correctly.

I thought, oh, somebody knows something.

I have to tell you, this is the only conversation I’ve ever had in my whole life, in all my 21 years.

Kidding.

Where the word has been spoken aloud.

What?

Yes.

This is a word that is ordinarily written.

It is ordinarily written by the educated classes, and they do it to show off.

I’m not surprised that other people are confused by this.

Well, Grant, maybe you should get out more because I’ve certainly heard nonplussed.

It’s another word for me for flustered.

The snooty club.

You know where I’ve heard spoken is on NPR.

But, Martha, you are hardly representative.

Neither are you, dear.

Well, that’s my point.

All right, Terry, you’re representative.

You’re in between the two extremes here.

So is this a word that you would ordinarily speak aloud?

No, I usually don’t, but I might write it possibly.

But certainly I read a lot, so I’ve seen it, and I grew up knowing what it meant from context.

And then in the last 15 to 20 years, all of a sudden I realized, wait a minute, that’s not being used that way anymore.

Well, you sound cool as a cucumber.

You’re probably never nonplussed.

Yeah, all this carrying on over here.

I didn’t say that.

Well, let me ask you a question.

Do you think that this word is skunked?

That means do you think this word is ruined forever?

I hope not.

I think it’s an interesting word.

I agree, Terry.

But I would hate to see it totally disappear or completely flip-flop, but I’m a little worried about it.

Well, I think what we have here is a self-referential word.

I mean, I’m just completely nonplussed about nonplussed.

Yeah.

Well, Terry, thank you so much for your call.

I hope we brought some clarity.

No.

Well, you share my condition of being nonplussed about this whole situation.

We certainly do.

We can agree on that.

Thanks so much.

Well, thank you very much.

I really enjoy your program.

Oh, nice.

Thank you, Terry.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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