Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SCRUM

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pronounce SCRUM: Say it "SKRUM." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: If a crowd of people and their chaotic movements remind you of a bunch of quacking geese, call them a g_gg__. But if they remind you instead of a cluster of football players, call them a scrum. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: Here's a scrum of rugby players: (With thanks to Wikipedia for the image.) The word "scrum" means "a loud, messy, moving crowd of eager people, especially people fighting or playing rugby or football." This word has been around since 1876 or so. It's a shorter form of the word "scrummage," which came from "scrimmage," both meaning "a battle-like tussle in football." And "scrimmage" came from "skirmish," meaning "a little fight." "Skirmish" came into English from French and Italian, and it might trace all the way back to a German word meaning "to defend, to protect." So basically, if you call something a scrum, you mean they're a clump of people or things all struggling against each other, as if they're playing football or fighting in a battle. grammatical bits: Part of speech: noun, the countable kind: "a scrum of reporters," "they gather in scrums." Other forms: The plural noun is "scrums." And it's rare, but "scrum" can be a verb, too: "they were scrumming hard," "they were scrumming around." how to use it: When you call a group of things or people a scrum, you're comparing them to players on a field, where there's one ball and everybody's struggling to get it--or, there are two teams, each struggling to shove the other away. It's a knock-down, drag-out mess.  You can see why we most often talk about a scrum of journalists or news reporters. In fact, in Canada, another meaning of "scrum" is "an informal, chaotic press conference." I also heard from a former press secretary who says they use the word the same way here in the States, on Capitol Hill. But you can also talk about a scrum of fans, shoppers, companies, advertisements, tweets, etc. examples: "On the set, the camera perched on the threshold of Bilott’s office, and a scrum of technicians outside formed a second barricade."    — John Lahr, The New Yorker, 4 November 2019 "Bridges’ camera... [renders] pictures so wide and with so much 'peripheral vision' that they almost wrap around his viewer. The effect nudges us to the center of the chaotic scrum that is moviemaking."    — Bill Shapiro, Los Angeles Times, 15 November 2019 has this page helped you understand "scrum"? 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 "scrum" without saying "scuffle" or "scrabble." try it out: In an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, there's something called "The Hall of Gratuitous Praise." It's exactly what it sounds like: you open the door to the hall, and a scrum of people cheer for you and bump into each other trying to get a good view of you, as if you're an adored celebrity. "You're gorgeous!" "You're beautiful!" "We LOVE you!" So you know, the characters open the door for a little boost in mood. I found it so hilarious. With that scrum of screaming admirers in mind as an example, describe some other funny, dramatic, or memorable scrum of people who appeared in a television show, a movie, or real life. If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) 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. This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."  (Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.") In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long. That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one. For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds." From the previous issue: "I identified the considerable emptiness in your essence, and you identified mine." --> "I saw the great void in your soul, and you saw mine." Try this today: "Some feathered creatures are not intended to be incarcerated, that's the extent of the matter." Say that, but in words of one beat each. Clues:  Where it's from: a novella, which later was made into a movie. (A novella is a tale that's shorter than a novel, longer than a short story.) The year we first heard it: 1982. review this word: 1. A near opposite of SCRUM is A. CORE. B. SINGLE-FILE LINE. C. SMOOTH SURFACE. 2. The New York Times once described the field of presidential candidates as "a scrum of _____ aspirants." A. keen-witted B. sharp-elbowed C. slow-footed Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. B 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:    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.