Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MANACLE

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explore the archives: Today's "manacle" offers a bit of nuance compared to our previous word "fetter." That is, to be fettered is to have your feet tied, while to be manacled is to have your hands tied. In either case, literally or figuratively. "Fettered" is more about restricting large-scale movement--whatever you do with your feet, so to speak-- while "manacled" is more about inhibiting finer movements performed with the hands (or as if with the hands). make your point with... "MANACLE" To manacle people is to put handcuffs on them, or to limit them as if you're putting handcuffs on them. Pronunciation: MAN uh kull Part of speech: Transitive verb. (Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object. You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone. Likewise, you manacle something or someone.) Other forms: Manacled, manacling. Manacles are literal shackles for the hands or figurative restraints. How to use it: Literally, you can manacle someone, or manacle someone's hands or wrists, possibly to something else: "his wrists were manacled to the railing." We're more interested in figurative uses: you might be manacled in something ("manacled in doubt," "manacled in too much information") or manacled to something ("he's still manacled to that impossible goal," "she's manacled to that outdated tradition").  It doesn't have to be a person who's manacled: something might manacle your mind, manacle your liberty, etc. Although you can manacle someone with something ("teachers manacled with too many regulations"), consider saying yoked or saddled instead. Those words express a burden carried by the whole body, not just the hands. For the noun, we almost always use the plural (like you would with "gloves" or "mittens") to talk about the manacles of the law, the manacles of love, these manacles of allegiance to a political party, financial manacles, etc. examples: Like manacles, the plans had locked onto my mind. There would be no releasing them until they came to be. Not that long ago, I was manacled to my six-day workweek. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "manacle" means when you can explain it without saying "handcuff" or "chain up." try it out: Think of something that tries to control you or limit you, and fill in the blanks: "I won't allow (myself / my work / my life / my future, etc.) to be manacled by _____." Example: "In my twenties I may have been anxious to please anyone who offered constructive criticism of my work, but now that I'm older and more self-possessed, I won't allow it to be manacled by unreasonable demands." 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. Well-Named Creatures: Some names for animals and other creatures define themselves instantly or after a brief moment’s thought: anteater, grasshopper, hummingbird, seahorse, octopus (eight-foot). But other names deserve some exploration; they hold hidden clues about what the animals look like or what they do. And sometimes the names reveal how baffled people were when they first caught a glimpse of the creatures and tried to name them. This month, I’ll give you the literal meaning of a creature's name, and you come up with what it is. Answers will appear in alphabetical order this month. (Oh, and the answers might be animals, birds, insects, or even extinct creatures.) Enjoy! From yesterday: An "evil spirit of the dead," although it’s a cute mammal, is a L_______.  Answer: A lemur. (Aww.) They walk around slowly at night, apparently, thus creeping out Linnaeus, the guy who named them. Try this one today: A "lion panther" is a L______. review today's word: 1. The opposite of MANACLE is A. MANUMIT B. MANIFEST C. MANAGE 2. He was manacled to the _____ ten years prior. A. one and only perfect poem he'd written B. realization he'd come to C. commitment he'd made Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@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. A 2. C