The word for today is…

nonplus (verb) –

: to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do : perplex

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Some people believe the “non” in nonplus means “not” and assume that to be nonplussed is to be calm and poised when just the opposite is true. If you are among the baffled, the word’s history may clarify things. In Latin, non plus means “no more.” In the earliest known uses, which date to the 16th century, it was used as a noun synonymous with quandary. Someone brought to a nonplus had reached an impasse in an argument and could say no more. Within a few decades of the first known use of the noun, people began using nonplus as a verb, and today it is often used in participial form with the meaning “perplexed” (as in “Joellen’s nasty remark left us utterly nonplussed”).

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...