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I am not bemused
Feb. 1st, 2008 05:37 pmThe English language has disappointed me once again. First, there was the epic debacle of "Disenfranchised" and now, there is confusion that is the word "bemused." Apparently, it does not mean what I thought it meant.
In my Nelson dictionary:
1. To cause to be bewildered; confuse.
2. To cause to be engrossed in thought.
Online dictionary:
1. bewildered or confused.
2. lost in thought; preoccupied.
Second online dictionary:
1. deeply absorbed in thought; "as distant and bemused as a professor listening to the prattling of his freshman class"; "lost in thought"; "a preoccupied frown"
2. perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment; "obviously bemused by his questions"; "bewildered and confused"; "a cloudy and confounded philosopher"; "just a mixed-up kid"; "she felt lost on the first day of school"
It was upon reading "a preoccupied frown" that I panicked. I had been reading a story, and since the author wasn't a particularly good author, they kept repeating certain things over and over again, one of which was the phrase "a bemused frown." At first I didn't think much of it, because, hey, internet writing isn't really an authority on language. But after the third time I saw the word "frown" follow the word "bemused," I figured I should look up the word, because I had never associated the word "bemused" with the word "frown" before.
So, I talked to Gabe about it:
Gabe: bemused doesn't mean "slightly amused with some curiosity towards the witnessed act?"
Me: No, apparently it's a confused or bewildered frown. keyword: FROWN
Gabe: like disapproving? weird
Me: Which doesn't make any sense to me, because "muse" has always indicated something good in my mind.
Gabe: mine says "preoccupied/lost in thought." Ours is a Collins dictionary
Me: Oh yeah, that's the other one...but that doesn't contain the idea of being amused...which I always thought was part of it.
Gabe: muse is neutral to me, like think...
Me: to me it's neutral bridging on positive, but never negative...but the definition I found for "bemused" and the recent things I have been reading that use it all use it in a negative sense...like being bewildered to the point of being disconcerted.
Gabe: odd
Me: Very
Gabe: wow
Gabe: man
Gabe: I should reread a lot of my fantasy literature then :P
Me: Haha
Gabe: people seemed cooler when bemused rather than bewildered
Me: Yeah...that's what I thought "what have I misinterpreted over all these years?!" or "what false messages have I given?!"
Gabe: hahaha
{end}
Now, that all being sad, when I looked up the etymology of the word, it sort of made more sense to me. Still, I prefer the definition of "bewildered yet amused" than the definition of a "preoccupied frown."
In my Nelson dictionary:
1. To cause to be bewildered; confuse.
2. To cause to be engrossed in thought.
Online dictionary:
1. bewildered or confused.
2. lost in thought; preoccupied.
Second online dictionary:
1. deeply absorbed in thought; "as distant and bemused as a professor listening to the prattling of his freshman class"; "lost in thought"; "a preoccupied frown"
2. perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment; "obviously bemused by his questions"; "bewildered and confused"; "a cloudy and confounded philosopher"; "just a mixed-up kid"; "she felt lost on the first day of school"
It was upon reading "a preoccupied frown" that I panicked. I had been reading a story, and since the author wasn't a particularly good author, they kept repeating certain things over and over again, one of which was the phrase "a bemused frown." At first I didn't think much of it, because, hey, internet writing isn't really an authority on language. But after the third time I saw the word "frown" follow the word "bemused," I figured I should look up the word, because I had never associated the word "bemused" with the word "frown" before.
So, I talked to Gabe about it:
Gabe: bemused doesn't mean "slightly amused with some curiosity towards the witnessed act?"
Me: No, apparently it's a confused or bewildered frown. keyword: FROWN
Gabe: like disapproving? weird
Me: Which doesn't make any sense to me, because "muse" has always indicated something good in my mind.
Gabe: mine says "preoccupied/lost in thought." Ours is a Collins dictionary
Me: Oh yeah, that's the other one...but that doesn't contain the idea of being amused...which I always thought was part of it.
Gabe: muse is neutral to me, like think...
Me: to me it's neutral bridging on positive, but never negative...but the definition I found for "bemused" and the recent things I have been reading that use it all use it in a negative sense...like being bewildered to the point of being disconcerted.
Gabe: odd
Me: Very
Gabe: wow
Gabe: man
Gabe: I should reread a lot of my fantasy literature then :P
Me: Haha
Gabe: people seemed cooler when bemused rather than bewildered
Me: Yeah...that's what I thought "what have I misinterpreted over all these years?!" or "what false messages have I given?!"
Gabe: hahaha
{end}
Now, that all being sad, when I looked up the etymology of the word, it sort of made more sense to me. Still, I prefer the definition of "bewildered yet amused" than the definition of a "preoccupied frown."
