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Jul 13, 2005

This week's theme
Words from movie titles

This week's words
gaslight
mondo
stepford
zelig
mitty

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stepford

Stepford (STEP-furd) adjective

Robotic, compliant, submissive; lacking in individuality.

[After the fictional suburb of Stepford, Connecticut in Ira Levin's 1972 novel, The Stepford Wives, later made into movies (in 1975 and 2004). In the story, men of this seemingly ideal town have replaced their wives with attractive robotic dolls devoid of emotion or thought.]

"Eight months ago at the Olympics, Michael Phelps was the Stepford Swimmer. He won six gold medals. He smiled. He gave bland answers to questions. He returned home to Baltimore and rode in a parade. All very nice. But his personality never broke the surface."
Mark Purdy; More Mature Phelps More Interesting, Too; The Mercury News (San Jose, California); May 20, 2005

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