And Tommy, you’re right, words do have meaning. That’s why I wondered aloud about politely dull. Cal can appreciate this. Dull is the opposite of sharp. And as defined in the OED, it means “Intellectually weak or obtuse; stupid.” And politely means “well mannered”. She could it be said she’s well mannered but stupid?

However, dull is also used to suggest somebody is boring. I don’t think questioning what this means is inept, especially since I’ve never seen those two words used together before.

Please, give a blogger a break.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d take that as code for politely dull. Claiming someone is using words to mean something other than what they mean is an inept way of making an argument. And the more it’s done, the more difficult it becomes to have a conversation because you don’t have a clue what anyone is really saying. Words have meaning, it’s best to stick to them, unless you have proof they were meant some other way.