A Fit Of Sulks – 23rd September 2026

A bully found within—
always the one wronged,
going to great lengths
to communicate your offence
at things so trivial.

You are the ironic
definition of the humdudgeon!

Almost obsolete in the dictionary
and modern use.
When you were needed most,
you were gone.

Shared with dVerse Quadrille #256 – ho-hum

From Deepseek:

Humdudgeon is a compound of hum and dudgeon.
Hum comes from Middle English hummen (to hum, buzz, drone), probably imitative in origin. Here it carries the sense of “humbug”—a hoax or imposition.
Dudgeon means a feeling of deep offence or resentment—as in the phrase “in high dudgeon” (furiously indignant). Its ultimate origin is uncertain, but it may come from the English dudgen (something worthless) or Italian aduggiare (to overshadow).

So the word combines the idea of something false or hollow (hum) with righteous indignation (dudgeon)—a fake grievance, an invented illness, a fuss over nothing.

One modern commentator noted the irony: at a time when taking offence seems increasingly popular, the near-obsolescence of humdudgeon—a word for needless offence—is “a bit odd”.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Most Secure Fortress

When ruling reason rallies and relies on itself
The mind free from passions is impenetrable
There’s no more secure place of refuge
When unconscious behaviour becomes exceptional