23
That time a book club member argued the dictionary was wrong about a word
We were discussing a novel where a character used 'nonplussed' to mean unfazed, and one lady pulled out her phone to show us the definition. She said the dictionary said it means confused, but she insisted everyone uses it the other way now. I pointed out that the author probably used it correctly for the era, and she snapped back that dictionaries are outdated. Has anyone else had a club member try to overwrite standard definitions?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
ivan_hayes291mo agoMost Upvoted
Honestly, that's so frustrating when someone just refuses to accept what the actual definition is. Tbh, you handled it way more calmly than I would have.
10
the_zara1mo ago
Nah @ivan_hayes29 I actually get where you're coming from but I don't think the calm thing is a bad thing here. People dig their heels in when they feel attacked and yelling at them just makes it worse. You handled it right by staying level because if you'd snapped they'd just use that to write off everything you said. I've been in that spot too many times where I let my temper get the better of me and then nobody listens to the actual point. Sometimes the win is walking away knowing you said your piece not convincing the other person.
2