The Gullibility of Olivia Longfellow

Note: Longfellow is not actually my last name, but such a title needed a last name, and not wanting to put my actual last name on the internet, I resolved to make one up.

Now on to your regularly scheduled post.

All over the internet, amid compilations of random facts or useless information, I had come across the statement that the commonly used word gullible is not in the dictionary.

When I first saw this, I scoffed, for of course the word gullible is in the dictionary, and I questioned the credibility of the other facts listed. The next time I saw it I wondered if perhaps the word was commonly misspelled, and the proper way was to omit one L, but I was busy and went about my tasks for the day without consulting the dictionary.

When I came across this piece of information again, I double checked to be sure I was, in fact, spelling gullible properly. There it was on dictionary.com: "gullible - adjective - easily deceived or cheated."

I was so perturbed by this, that such blatantly false information was circulating the internet, that I brought it to the attention of my mother.

"Mother," I said, "I don't understand. I keep seeing this thing that gullible is not in the dictionary. But it's on dictionary dot com!"

Here, she grinned.

I stared blankly, wondering what was so funny.

"Olivia," she began.

And then I got it.

We fell in heaps laughing.

Gullible! The dictionary! I looked up gullible in the dictionary! This was a trick and I fell for it!

Of course, all this was a trick meant purely for the amusement of my mother. Of course.

I would never actually fall for anything like that.

It was just a... blonder than usual... moment.

Postscript:

It's Monday!

The day of music!

A psaltery and guitar ensemble, it says*, of Waltz from Masquerade by Aram Khachaturian.

*Well, Google Translate says it says.