Stumped for words

7 years ago

To be stumped or to get stumped.

Sometimes I feel shy and I don't know what to say. I can say, "I'm stumped for words". It just means I don't know what to say in this situation.

A stump is also:  
The base part of a tree trunk left standing after the tree has been felled or has fallen.

So, you can see that this phrase can relate the verbal phrase with the physical. If you are stumped for words, you are unable to move forward, if you walk into a tree stump in the forest, it can be a bit of an obstacle.