Retrieving my dropped possessions from the mud was a degrading experience.

to flash a message along the telephone wires;  to flash conviction on the mind

Hester Prynne, the historical character in The Scarlet Letter, was exposed and convicted by neighborhood gossip. … Gossip continues to brand some young ladies in small towns with this symbolic letter, but in our larger cities one rarely sees young ladies branded with an A.

What do you mean, funny? Funny peculiar or funny ha-ha?