Word of the Day

Stymie

Pronunciation

[stahy-mee]                                                                                                                       

Part(s) of speech

  • Noun
  • Verb (when used with object)                                                                                                

​Origin

Unknown, 1902 (possible first known use)

Definition(s)

Noun

  1. Golf. (on the putting green) an instance of a ball’s lying on a direct line between the cup and the ball of an opponent about the putt.
  2. A situation or problem presenting such difficulties as to discourage or defeat any attempt to deal with or resolve it.

Verb (used with object) [stymied or stymieing]

  1. To hinder, block or thwart.                              

Used in a sentence           

  1. Staying at home during the current pandemic was supposed to stymie the virus.
  2. Tiger Woods avoided a stymie on the 18th hole with a perfectly placed shot.          

Did you know?

Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts.             

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Courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com