Definitive Jest

Entry: pithed (adj.)


In context: "Docile and continent but blank, as if on some deep reptile-brain level pithed."

Definition: From pith (v.):

To pierce, sever, or destroy the upper spinal cord or brainstem of (an animal), so as to cause death or insensibility.

but also, though less applicable here, this:

To supply a person with strength or courage

and more prosaically:

To remove or extract the pith from.

Other: If you want to make someone strong or courageous, one way is to make them pithed off.  Right?

SNOOT score: 1

Page: 548

Source: Oxford English Dictionary