Dumbstruck

The Word of the Day for October 20 is "dumbstruck."

dumbstruck: (adjective) So shocked or astonished as to be rendered spechlesss.

Synonyms: dumbfounded, dumbstricken, flabbergasted, stupefied, thunderstruck

Usage: He stood dumbstruck in the doorway as the partygoers yelled "Surprise!" in unison.

Relevance to my life: His comment: "You know, you're a damn fine-looking woman now, but do you know how drop-dead you'd be with a little plastic surgery?" left me uncharacteristically dumbstruck, and wondering if all men are born without that filter between the brain and the mouth or if it's just the ones who are interested in me.

What it is NOT: "hit with the stupid stick" or any other derivation of dumb meaning unintelligent, although I like the image of being hit with the stupid stuck.

I was stricken dumb by these video clips this morning only because I was laughing too hard to breathe and was therefore unable to speak:









I can't see office clips without dragging out the next two:





"It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care."

Despairing

The Word of the Day for October 2 is "despairing."

despairing (adjective) Characterized by or resulting from despair; hopeless.

Synonyms: desperate

Usage: The set-back to their hopes made them despairing and desperate.

Relevance to my life: The Great Online Dating Experiment I have embarked on over the past two years has left me despairing of ever being in a normal relationship again. Although the prospect of a wider pool of applicants is indeed a lure for some, so is the temptation to toss back the small ones in hopes of a bigger catch: I feel like a small mutated sea bass in an ocean of brightly-colored tropical fish.

If only I were joking.


Boy, do I need this weekend away with my girlfriends. I may even get a tattoo.



And just because this makes me laugh every time I see it:






Yes, I do have a juvenile sense of humor sometimes.

Unlettered

The Word of the day for September 23, is "unlettered."

unlettered: (adjective) Uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication.

Synonyms: ignorant, nescient, unlearned

Usage: On points where the learned have, in purity of heart, been compelled to differ, the unlettered will necessarily be at variance.

Relevance to my life: One lesson I have learned from my online dating ventures is that the more unlettered a man is, the better he likes me, as evidenced by messages such as: "Your [sic] a beautiful women [sic]" and "I like intelligence [sic] girls." How can I not be sick with despair over the state of education in this country, to say nothing of my romantic prospects?

All-new feature!

What it is NOT- (any form of a verb): With each click of the backspace key, and with extreme spite and malice, he unlettered my Word document;

or

Every time some of these pundits open their mouths on television, they unletter themselves by demonstrating their ignorance.*

* I really do like this possible definition as a reflexive verb, though. :)

Note- why is this text editor fucking up my post?

Unstudied

The Word of the Day for September 20 is "unstudied."

unstudied: (adjective) Not contrived for effect; natural.

Synonyms: uncontrived

Usage: She walked with an unstudied grace that the other models envied and imitated.

Relevance to my life: The unstudied ease with which the man whom I would later dub "The Player*" tossed off his lies was, in retrospect, amazing; if liars could receive Academy Awards for deception, then that bastard would walk home with twenty.

*My, isn't post-separation dating a fun venture.


A funny note about "unstudied:" In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennett says to Mr. Collins:

"...it is happy for you that you posses the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment or are they the result of careful study?"

to which Mr. Collins replies:

"They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time,and though I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging  such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions, I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible."

I love it. I wonder how hard he practices to achieve that "unstudied air."

Ok, maybe I'm a dork for finding that hilarious, but Jane Austen was the queen of irony.