Word of the Day: STOLID
Unexcitable or inert
stolid (adj) - impassive, unemotional, or uninteresting; showing little or no emotion [stol-id]
BREAKDOWN: STOL- (to stand or put) + -ID (that which is)
stolidity and stolidness both describe the state or quality of being unemotional and unresponsive; apathy or indifference
“A prosecutor is a stolid carpenter who patiently hammers his wood into place as he builds a house, one board at a time. A defense lawyer is a nihilistic vandal who finds the support beam and pulls down the house before it’s complete.” —Paul Levine
🎓🦅 The eagle has landed! Find out just how many different kinds of professionals help students on the road to college in the latest College Eagle.
The STOL- root is doing some heavy lifting here. "To stand or put" connects stolid to being emotionally unmoved — literally standing firm when circumstances try to push you around. What's interesting is the same root shows up in "stall" (originally a standing place for cattle) and "install" (to put something in its standing place). Stolid people are just emotionally installed — they've found their standing spot and they're staying there. The Levine quote is perfect: that patient, board-by-board construction requires exactly this kind of emotional stillness.