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Word of the Day: Stumped
Have you ever been stumped by something strange or wonderful?
Well, you’re not alone.
Stumped is a common word used in many different contexts, and it can be tricky to pinpoint its precise meaning.
But hey, that’s English in general, right?
At its core, stumped means to be at a loss for an answer or unable to solve a problem.
It’s a feeling of confusion and frustration that arises when you’re unable to come up with a solution or explanation for something.
For example, as an advanced English language learner, you should work on crossword puzzles to improve your knowledge.
If you do, there are bound to be times when there’s one clue you can’t figure out, leaving you stumped.
In everyday conversation, you might hear stumped used in a variety of ways.
For instance, you might say a complex math problem has stumped you, or a spouse’s strange behaviour stumps you.
Of course, you have already been stumped by English hundreds of times because it is just a crazy language to learn.
After all, we all know there is no rhyme or reason for how English works.
Anyways, stumped can also be used in a more lighthearted way to describe a situation in which you’re pleasantly surprised or caught off guard.
For example, if you’re walking down the street and someone unexpectedly hands you a bouquet of flowers, you might say that you’re stumped, meaning that you’re taken aback by the gesture.
I did something similar to my wife.
When I saw her for the first time in a restaurant where I was working, I sent some dessert to her table because she was so sweet.
Of course, Japanese men never do things like that, so my future wife was stumped.
It worked, though, because we have been married for more than 20 years.
That fact leaves some people stumped and wondering how she puts up with me.
C’est la vie!
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 76.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.