Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TONY

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explore the archives: Tony means having a high, fashionable tone--in other words, fashionable, stylish, swanky. It's an American word, born here in 1877, when it first appeared in a book I assume is stylish and swanky titled The Rise and Fall of the Mustache and Other Hawk Eyetems. Someone tony might also be r___ish: trendy and fashionable, bold and carefree, even slightly vulgar. Can you recall that word? make your point with... "TONY" Tony people and things are cool, trendy, stylish, swanky, and fashionable. Pronunciation: TOE nee 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 tony place" or "a tony person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was tony" or "He was tony.") Other forms: tonier, toniest How to use it: This is a casual, breezy, hip kind of word. Very often, it describes places: a tony neighborhood, a tony commercial strip, a tony part of town, a tony city, a tony house or apartment, a tony hotel or restaurant, a tony nightclub or bar. And you can say a place has a tony atmosphere. You can also talk about tony people: tony friends and relatives, tony celebrities and public figures, tony artists and musicians and authors. examples: She picked a tony loft near the medical center, with cement floors, brick walls, and exposed ductwork. In Laura's tony neighborhood, everyone wears sleek yoga pants and is either about to get coffee, is currently getting coffee, or just finished getting coffee. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "tony" means when you can explain it without saying "posh" or "in vogue." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "In the tony (atmosphere or particular section) of (a certain place), (something happens)." Example: "In the tony main hall of the Jefferson Hotel, guests sit in high-backed chairs and gaze at the stained glass ceiling." 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. This month, we're playing with lines of poetry that include words we've checked out together in previous issues. I’ll give you a few lines from the poem, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it. Each answer will appear in the next day's issue. Enjoy! From yesterday: From Kate Colby's poem "A Body Drawn By Its Own Memory:"    "There’s a devotion called _________     to seeing oneself in surfaces     in a window, a shadow, a standard,     or the immediate space around another body." Definition: not drooping, continuing at the same strong and steady pace, continuing to be energetic. (Hint: it starts with "un" and ends with "ing.") Answer: unflagging. Try this today: From Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Ebb:"    "I know what my heart is like           Since your love died:     It is like a hollow ledge     Holding a little pool           Left there by the tide,           A little _____ pool,     Drying inward from the edge." Definition: just a little bit warm (or just a little bit cool); underwhelming. review today's word: 1. The opposite of TONY is A. PASSÉ B. ENLARGED C. DECEPTIVE 2. Men gathered in the foyer, dressed in tony _____. A. cargo shorts B. dinner jackets C. military uniforms Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, 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. B