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what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:06 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

Hello,

Could you please tell me the meaning of this sentence:

"He was literally struck dumb"

Many thanks.
Ann Nguyen
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 56
Location: Vietnam

what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:21 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

Hi,

'Dumb' means unable to speak. 'Be struck dumb' means 'suddenly be made dumb by some outer or inner force'. The addition of 'literally' has the sense that something actually, in fact happened. Back to your sentence -
Quote:
He was literally struck dumb
. This means that he actually couldn't speak for a minute because perhaps he had suffered a great shock or experienced a great surprise.

Alan
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what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:25 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

Thank Alan,

You are so helpful, after posting this question a few minutes, I have received your answer.
Ann Nguyen
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 56
Location: Vietnam

what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:57 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

He was stuned.
Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 26 Oct 2006
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Location: Japan

what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:04 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

Haihao wrote:
He was stuned.

Hi Haihao,

He must have been stunned Wink
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what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:16 am  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

O yes. Thank you, Ralf.
Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1389
Location: Japan

what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean? Sat Jul 19, 2008 14:33 pm  what does "he was literally struck dumb" mean?
 

You're stunned too, Ralf.
Ann Nguyen
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 56
Location: Vietnam

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