ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by prunes and Tylenol,

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the breakfast of champions.

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Seventy-five years and older.

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All right, which of these words is closest in meaning to lackluster?

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All right. [ mumbles ] All right.

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So let's break it down. Something that is lackluster

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lacks luster. [ chuckles ]

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It doesn't have brightness. It's boring and bland,

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like watching your phone recharge while on a family road trip.

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All right, let's start with A - shiny.

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If something is shiny, it reflects light.

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It's definitely bright.

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So we can cross this one off right away.

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Next up is C - stolen.

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Stolen means taken without permission.

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Now, if you're stuck playing Settlers of Catan

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at your family reunion, well, you might feel like

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your time on this earth is being stolen.

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But as boring as it is watching your grandpa

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trade sheep with your little sister, well,

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stolen isn't quite the same as lackluster,

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so we can eliminate this one, as well.

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And then there's dehydrated.

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Well, dehydrated means lacking moisture.

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Something that's lackluster could also be dehydrated,

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like that flavorless tofu jerky that your raw foodist

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cousin keeps using to guilt trip you.

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But not having moisture and not having brightness aren't quite close enough.

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So that leaves us with B - dull.

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Dull means so boring it makes working retail look good.

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Dull can also describe an object that doesn't reflect light.

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So if something is dull, it's not interesting and not bright.

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Sound familiar?

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Yep, something dull definitely lacks luster, so the correct answer is B - dull.

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[ chewing ]

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