Make Your Point > Archived Issues > LAPIDARY
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"LAPIDARY"
Meaning:
A lapidary is someone who works with stones or gems, and something lapidary is related to stones or to words that are carved into stones.
More loosely, something lapidary is serious and dignified, in a way that reminds you of something written on a monument.
And, something lapidary can be extremely precise and finely done, in a way that reminds you of how a gemstone is perfectly cut.
Pronunciation:
LAP id air ee
Part of speech:
Adjective.
(Adjectives are describing words, like “large” or “late.”
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in “a lapidary style.”
2. After a linking verb, as in "The style was lapidary.”)
Other forms:
You can use "lapidarian" instead of "lapidary," if you like.
How to use it:
Talk about a lapidary style, tone, mood, atmosphere, or quality.
Anything written or spoken could be lapidary: a lapidary novel, a lapidary script, a lapidary speech, a lapidary announcement, a lapidary phrase or expression, etc.
Something might have lapidary refinement, lapidary exactness, or lapidary precision. Or, something might require a lapidary process, a lapidary technique, or a lapidary attention to detail.
And finally, if you don't mind being really overt about it as you extend a metaphor, you might say something has a lapidary polish, a lapidary shine, a lapidary sparkle, and so on. In this way, we tend to loosen up the definition of "lapidary" a bit to simply mean "gemlike."
One of my favorite poems, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," has a lapidary tone and a couple of images that stay with me for days.
On the sunniest days, the ocean waves here take on a lapidary sheen that's too beautiful to look away from but almost painfully bright.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "lapidary" means when you can explain it without saying "with great dignity" or "with great precision."
Think of something you have to do really carefully if you want to do it right, and fill in the blanks: "(A certain task) requires (a certain amount of time) (but also or and) a lapidary attention to detail."
Example 1: "Trimming a baby's tiny fingernails requires only a few minutes but also a lapidary attention to detail."
Example 2: "Formatting a bibliography for a lengthy paper requires hours and a lapidary attention to detail."
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
Playing With Words:
This month, we're playing New Word Order! It's a card game that I recently created; it involves figuring out the order in which certain words and phrases entered our language. I'll give you several words and/or phrases, and you'll use your knowledge of history, slang, technology, popular culture, fashion, psychology, etc. to put them into chronological order. I'll post the right answer to each question on the following day. If you like this game, you can download and print it to play with your family and friends. (It's free.)
Yesterday's task was to place "malware" on this timeline:
Passive-resist, 1952
Shake ‘n Bake, 1965
Trash talk, 1981
Answer:
Passive-resist, 1952
Shake ‘n Bake, 1965
Trash talk, 1981
Malware, 1990
Today, your new timeline looks like this:
Ecosphere, 1953
Clip art, 1971
Steampunk, 1990
Try to decide where this term belongs on that timeline: "dreadlocks."
Special preview of next month's game: Yes! Fist pump! :) Next month we'll be sampling questions from Orijinz, a series of games about words, phrases, and quotes. I loooove these games. Click here or on the logo below if you want to go ahead and check them out, especially if you're an early shopper for the holidays:
A Point Well Made:
Sylvia Plath: "I want to be free – free to know people and their backgrounds – free to move to different parts of the world so I may learn that there are other morals and standards besides my own."
1. Some opposites of LAPIDARY are
A. FLEXIBLE and SKETCHY
B. INFORMAL and APPROXIMATE
C. IMMORAL and FROWNED UPON
2. The biography, lapidary in tone from start to finish, opens with a _____ description of his childhood.
A. solemn
B. succinct
C. lively
Answers are below.
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Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. B
2. A
Exploring the archives:
Today's word joins fantast and weather-wise on our short list of words that each have two very different meanings, and yet it's easy to tell how those meanings are related.
Could you recall these? That is, a fantast is someone who __?__ but also someone who _?__, and if you're weather-wise, that means you're either __?___ or __?___.
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"LAPIDARY"
Pronunciation: Part of speech: Other forms: How to use it:
Sylvia Plath: "I want to be free – free to know people and their backgrounds – free to move to different parts of the world so I may learn that there are other morals and standards besides my own."
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