Nerd Tests!

**Cap'n 1time** · September 24th, 2007, 03:37

I think it just means mute whale penis. You're all wrong.

**VampDude** · September 24th, 2007, 04:00

Originally Posted by quzar

That definition fits in well with both Dork and Awkward. The problem could stem from the fact that the american colloquial use of the word dumb comes from the german (dumm, which literally means stupid), where you might be thinking of the use of dumb to mean something along the lines of retarded or mute.

Dumb is stupid and/or slightly retarded thou.

Dumb

Definition:

1. [adjective] slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; "so dense he never understands anything I say to him"; "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students"
Synonyms: dense, dim, dull, obtuse, slow

Via: *

Words' historical meanings matter
Mike Kaplan, GRS '04
Issue date: 4/9/03 Section: Opinion

Robyn Burgess says, "In this age of enlightenment, it is no longer acceptable to call anyone who was previously labeled retarded as retarded," as we have other more specific and socially acceptable terminology to utilize now ("Meaning of 'retarded' has changed," April 7, pg. 8). She goes on to ask, "Why can't we make use of a word that is no longer needed for its original perceived intention of 'retarded?'"

Pardon my incredulity, but what would happen if we replaced "retarded" with "ni**er" in that line of thinking? In this age of enlightenment, it is no longer acceptable to call anyone who was previously labeled as a ni**er a ni**er, so why can't we make use of a word ... The reason some still take offense at the use of "retarded," even when not describing differently-abled people (if that's the lingo of the day), is that the word still brings up the offensive connotations of the word's meaning. When people say something is retarded, they mean it's dumb, which is certainly not a far stretch from the original intention attached to the word "retarded."

Ms. Burgess concludes that "words are just words, and they can mean whatever you want them to mean." I don't know if this seems inane only to me, to suggest that words are not some of the most powerful tools that we as humans possess. If it is indeed so that words can mean whatever we want then allow me to conclude monkey fish pajama.