flummox
FLUM-uksverbMeaning to confuse someone so completely that they don’t know what to do
Memory hook FLUM-OX: the OX is totally STUMPED. The ox stares and stares at the gate latch, nudges it, then stares some more. He has no idea what to do: it flummoxes him.
The self-checkout machine flummoxed Dad, who kept scanning the same banana.
In context The tangle of pipes under the sink completely flummoxed the new plumber; he stared at it, scratched his head and finally called his boss for help.
Similar baffle, stump, bewilder, confuse
An English dialect word of the 1800s whose origin is unknown.