Make Your Point: KRYPTONITE

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pronounce KRYPTONITE:

KRIP tuh nite

connect this word to others:

If I'm trying to eat healthy, then Cheese Balls (those salty, dusty, crunchy, delicious, and highly processed snacks) are my weakness: my kryptonite. They'll take me down. If making healthy choices was my superpower, then Cheese Balls nullified it.

The word kryptonite belongs to a family of words that involve hidden things, at least in an etymological sense, like crypt, cryptic, and a__cryph__ (literally "hidden away" but today meaning "partially or fully made-up").

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

definition:

Let's start with two chemists! In 1898, William Ramsay and Morris Travers discovered a gaseous element that was particularly hard to find. They named it "krypton," from the Greek word kryptos, meaning "hidden."

The name of that element probably inspired Jerry Siegel in 1940 when he wrote a story about Superman and invented a planet named Krypton. Soon after, a 1943 radio show called Adventures of Superman introduced "Kryptonite," a mystical substance from the planet Krypton with the power to weaken Superman: to negate his superpowers. (You can read more on the history of Kryptonite in the DC Comics universe here.)

Kryptonite later became a key component in the Superman comics, and it entered popular culture (and for the most part, dropped the capital K) as a much more general term. These days, kryptonite is anything specific that can weaken or damage a specific person.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "That's my kryptonite;" "Flashback episodes are sitcom kryptonite."

Other forms:

None. You might see it capitalized, especially in its original context, as in "Superman can be killed with Kryptonite."

how to use it:

To strike a playful tone, and to compare your subject to a superhero, pick the word "kryptonite" to label an object, task, chore, situation, or anything else that causes your subject particular pain.

You might say that something is someone's kryptonite: "Cheese Balls are my kryptonite."

Or that something is kryptonite to or for someone: "Cheese Balls are kryptonite to me."

examples:

"Wokeness is kryptonite for the Democrats... Dems should be winning big majorities. But we have strong negative partisanship."
— Jonathan Haidt, as quoted by Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times, 26 May 2021

"The moment you become averse to something, you begin to avoid engaging with that thing, so you never actually get to learn what it’s all about, including any affinity you might have for it. It becomes like kryptonite to you. Ease and comfort around it can never develop... Do you have a kryptonite effect in your life? What would it mean to you to to be able to do the thing in question freely? What would happen if you went straight for the kryptonite?"
— David Cain, Raptitude, 2016

has this page helped you understand "kryptonite"?

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 "kryptonite" without saying "personal weakness" or "Achilles' heel."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Something) is kryptonite for (someone)."

Example 1: "Live sketch comedy is kryptonite for Jimmy Fallon. He always breaks character and laughs."

Example 2: "Courtrooms Are Kryptonite for Alex Jones... Shock jocks lose their power when forced to tell the truth, the whole truth."
— Charlie Warzel, New York Times, 31 March 2019

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 for April is "Interpret the Titles: Tim Curry Edition!"

Are you a fan of Tim Curry? (How could anyone not be?) Did you know his birthday is in April? I didn't until I looked it up, but it’s the perfect excuse to base this month's game on his filmography.

I'll give you the title of some show, movie, or video game that Tim Curry has starred in, along with a summary, and I'll challenge you to interpret the title in three different ways.

To see some examples, and some tips if you get stuck, head here!

Try this one today: "Regular Show" was a 2010–2017 animated TV series that guest starred Tim Curry in two episodes as the voice of "Hot Dog Leader" and "Master Prank Caller #2." Taglines for the show included "Regular Show: It's Anything But" and "This Is Just a Regular Show. Pay It No Heed." According to IMDb, it was about "the surreal misadventures of two best friends–a blue jay and a raccoon–as they seek to liven up their mundane jobs as groundskeepers at the local park." But it wasn't for children: "It tackles moral dilemmas without being preachy... [and it] really shines in its total awareness of what makes adults who grew up in the 80s and 90s tear up and laugh out loud all at once: Nostalgia. One episode is a parody of (and indeed, named) Over the Top. Another example is the constant montages set to old tunes from decades past, such as Hang Tough and Workin' for the Weekend. Even better are the tiny references which most people under 25 wouldn't get, and hold screen time for mere moments before you're left wondering 'Hey, didn't I see that scene in Logan's Run?'"

1. It's titled "Regular Show" because... ?

2. It's titled "Regular Show" because... ?

3. It's titled "Regular Show" because... ?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. The opposite of KRYPTONITE could be

A. AMBROSIA: food that makes you immortal.
B. a PET PEEVE: a habit that drives you mad.
C. MANA: someone's personal respectability.

2. Adam Frank has argued that NASA's "kryptonite" is _____.

A. a generation of kids who aspire to careers in math and science
B. a group of climate change deniers in Congress who want to slash NASA's funding
C. its stellar reputation for achievements in space travel and science as a whole

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...
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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.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > KRYPTONITE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.