Make Your Point: CACHE

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CACHE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

pronounce CACHE:

CASH

connect this word to others:

As we check out the swanky little word cache, see if you can recall a closely related two-syllable word, one that ends in a silent T:

When something has c____t, it has a reputation for being excellent, admired, and respected.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Cache" comes straight from French, from cacher, meaning "to hide." We first used it in English to describe hiding places for treasure and other valuable goods.

Over time, we also applied it to the treasures themselves, and that's the meaning that's most common today: a cache of valuable things is a secret collection of them stored away somewhere. And to cache things is to hide them away in a secret collection.

"Cache" also has a specific meaning in computing, which we won't focus on much. But the idea is basically the same: a cache is a place to store away data, and to cache data is to store it.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Most often a noun, the countable kind: "It's a cache of liquor;" "They found weapon caches."

And a verb, the transitive kind: "The squirrels nibble through half the nuts and cache the rest."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "caches."

The other verb forms are "cached" and "caching."

how to use it:

You could just say "stash," "hoard," "stockpile," or "storehouse," but when you pick the feisty little word "cache," you're adding some excitement and French flavor to your statement.

Talk about someone's cache of food, gold, money, jewels, weapons, cosmetics, ideas, strategies, skills, etc.

A cache doesn't necessarily need to be hidden. Just as long as it's packed with valuable things—at least, valuable to the person who owns them—you can call it a cache.

examples:

"After a lifetime of restlessness, [the song 'Now' by Graham Nash] feels remarkably content, as if Nash has slipped into a favorite old overcoat to find a cache of new tunes stuffed inside a pocket."
— Grayson Haver Currin, New York Times, 10 May 2023

"With school out and me not having access to Mrs. Conway’s cache of books, I rediscovered the George Bruce Branch of the public library on 125th Street."
— Walter Dean Myers, Bad Boy, 2001

has this page helped you understand "cache"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "cache" without saying "stash" or "stockpile."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "Hidden (somewhere) is a cache of (something)."

Example 1: "Tucked away in the freezer is a cache of bite-sized chocolate bars from last Halloween."

Example 2: "Underneath the sawdust—and he knew exactly where—were caches of nutshells, seeds, bones, fruit, and gristle."
— Nancy Farmer, The House of the Scorpion, 2002

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "It Sounds Wiser in Latin."

Longtime readers will recognize this game. It's back, with fresh new (okay, mostly ancient) Latin idioms!

Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related English words. For example, the clue "Something anguine reminds you of a snake" could help you determine that "Latet anguis in herba" means "A snake hides in the grass."

You can see the answers by scrolling to the bottom of the issue.

Try this last set today:

1. Aeque pars ligni curvi ac recti valet igni.
2. Cor boni concilii statue tecum non est enim tibi aliud pluris illo.
3. Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.
4. Dum lusus bonus est, ipsum dimittere fas est.
5. Dum satur est venter, gaudet caput inde libenter.

A. Any man can make a mistake; only a fool keeps making the same one.
B. Crooked logs make straight fires.
C. The best time to quit a joke or a game is when it’s at its best.
D. The heart of good counsel is in your own self; there is nothing more valuable to you than that.
E. When the stomach is full, the head is pleased.

To peek at the clues, follow the links:

1. "Nunc dimittis" literally means...
2. "Cap-à-pie" means...
3. To ignite is to...

review this word:

1. The near opposite of a CACHE is

A. a DEARTH: a shortage or a scarcity of something valuable.
B. a POLYMATH: a person who's educated and accomplished in many different subjects.
C. a SHIBBOLETH: a thing about you (like a food, a habit, or a tradition) that lets everybody know that you belong to a specific group of people.

2. Like it sounds, geocaching is a kind of worldwide _____.

A. spelling competition
B. hunt for buried treasure
C. friendly letter-writing game

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CACHE Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to "Make Your Point" for a daily vocabulary boost.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CACHE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.