I use the term “flabbergasted” ALL the time but today, I really thought about it and I don’t know what a flabber is or why it gets gasted.
What is a flabber and why does it get gasted?
r/ask
I use the term “flabbergasted” ALL the time but today, I really thought about it and I don’t know what a flabber is or why it gets gasted.
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Here, I used http://www.google.com to find the answer, it was really easy, I even found a reddit thread from when this was already asked
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/s/Q1Z09CJVgf
We know what it means: shock, awe, consternation, confusion, bewilderment.
I just think of it as an onomatopoeia except instead of a spelled out transcription of a sound, it’s a spelled out transcription of what it feels like being in a state of shock, awe, consternation, and bewilderment.
“Flabbergasted” is a made up 1700s word combining “flabby” and “aghast,” meaning utterly shocked. No real “flabber” gets “gasted.”