Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FOOFARAW

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connect today's word to others: Our colorful, all-American word foofaraw might be related to the word fan_____ade, meaning "a big show of bragging that reminds you of a trumpet blast." What we mean by foofaraw is: all fluff, no slink. If you're a fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly, you know what I mean. Here, two characters peer into the window of a dress shop: "Kaylee: Say, look at the fluffy one! Zoe: Too much foofaraw. If I’m gonna wear a dress, I want something with some slink." I quoted Zoe before, back when we studied a word that starts with S and means "hopeful, optimistic, cheerful, and confident." Can you recall it? Here's the Firefly dialogue it appears in: "Zoe: You s_______ about the kind of reception we’re apt to receive on an Alliance ship, Cap’n? Mal: Absolutely. What’s s_______ mean? Zoe: S_______. Hopeful. Plus, point of interest? It also means bloody. Mal: Well, that pretty much covers all the options, don’t it?" (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "FOOFARAW" Like it sounds, foofaraw is tacky or gaudy stuff (especially clothes and accessories).  More loosely, foofaraw is a showy display or a noisy fuss. Pronunciation: FOO fuh raw Part of speech: Usually an uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "advice," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of advice," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many advices." Likewise, talk about "the foofaraw," "this foofaraw," "her foofaraw," "such foofaraw," "no foofaraw," and so on, but don’t say "foofaraws.") And sometimes, it's a countable noun, but we use it only in the singular: "a foofaraw," "one foofaraw," "the foofaraw," "this foofaraw." Other forms: none How to use it: "Foofaraw" is rare, funny, and informal, so it can give your sentence a dash of whimsy.  Because it can be so silly and unexpected, it's fun to plop "foofaraw" at the end of a list of otherwise specific things: "beads and shells and paint and foofooraw" (Janice Holt Giles), "a four-car garage, a tennis court, adjoining servants' suites, floodlit gardens, and a lot more outdoor foofaral" (Peter C. Newman). (Did you catch that? Those authors spelled "foofaraw" as "foofaral" and "foofooraw." So although we can take some license with the spelling, I recommend the one listed in dictionaries: "foofaraw.") When we use "foofaraw" to mean "tacky junk," we can talk about buying and selling foofaraw, wearing and carrying foofaraw, equipping something with foofaraw, hauling around a bunch of foofaraw, etc. Or, talk about someone's foofaraw or something's foofaraw: the actress's foofaraw, the foofaraw of the theater. And when we use "foofaraw" to mean "pomp" or "a kerfuffle," we can talk about causing a foofaraw, setting off a foofaraw, settling a foofaraw, etc. Or, talk about a foofaraw about some issue or a foofaraw of some activity. Here's TIME Magazine: "a foofaraw of petition-drafting, letter-signing, and complaining." examples: I'm determined to avoid paying the airline for a checked bag, so I can't pack all this foofaraw. Christopher Monckton famously referred to a documentary on climate change as a "foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and errors." study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "foofaraw" means when you can explain it without saying "tawdry items" or "ostentation." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Something) is cluttered with a foofaraw of _____." Concrete example: "The counter by the register at Claire's is cluttered with a foofaraw of tiaras, puff ball key chains, and bright pink and green nail polish." Abstract example: "Her book is cluttered with a foofaraw of 'deep' observations, tired platitudes, and plagiarized ideas." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Subject Line Redux! You know how I fill the subject line of each Make Your Point email with a little comment about the word? Let's revisit some of those subject lines; they make a good study tool. That is, you'll improve your chances of recalling our words when you need them later if you do this now: look at the little comment from the subject line and use that to recall the word, its meaning, and how it connects to the little comment. (For more on active recall and how you can employ it to strengthen your vocabulary, please go here.) In each issue this month, I'll share a puzzle or other activity that prompts you to recall 5 previous words based on their subject lines. (To make your own activities like these, check out the fun and useful Vocabulary Worksheet Factory.) And I'll share the answers in the following issue. From our previous issue:  Answers: Try this today: review today's word: 1. One opposite of FOOFARAW is A. MUSICAL TALENT. B. TASTEFUL APPAREL. C. ACCESSIBLE RESOURCE. 2. In recent decades we've noticed an increase in the foofaraw _____. A. of traffic incidents in major cities B. surrounding children's birthday parties C. separating casual email communication from more formal modes Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. 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. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. B