NYT editorial

Grimace and Bear It (NYT)
May 28, 2009

The merest hint of something short of bemusement may make it in Arkansas, one bureaucrat allowed, but no teeth showing and don’t even think of grinning large.

Bemused means befuddled

The definition of "bemused" isn't "amused." If someone is bemused, they are confused; lost in thought; bewildered; baffled. If you want to say that someone is amused, there is a word for that: "amused."

In this blog, we will highlight instances of professional or semi-professional writers misusing this slippery word in its various parts of speech.

Inspired by, but completely unaffiliated with, d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com .