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"DEBACLE"
Pronunciation:
Lots of different, acceptable ways.
I say "duh BOCK ull."
Part of speech:
Countable noun.
(Countable nouns, like “bottle,” “piece,” and “decision,” are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about “a bottle,” “three pieces,” and “many decisions.”
Likewise, talk about one debacle or multiple debacles.)
Meaning:
Concretely, a debacle is a shattering of ice in a river, or a sudden rush of ice or water.
Abstractly, a debacle is a total, sudden failure.
Other forms:
debacles
How to use it:
There are lots of words for "failure," so use this one, "debacle," when the failure is so sudden and violent that it reminds you of ice in a river getting all smashed up.
Talk about a debacle, the debacle, this debacle, and that debacle. You often put a descriptive noun or adjective before it: "a financial debacle," "his political debacle," "that fashion debacle," "the fake ID debacle," "that whole embarrassing debacle," "a growing debacle," "the recent debacle," etc.
The plural is less common, but you can certainly talk about "a pair of debacles," "a long string of cringe-worthy debacles," " an entire season of pilot-episode debacles," and so on.
Yahoo! Small Business, my website server, couldn't fix an ongoing bug that made page statistics unavailable, but I realized that the whole debacle was irrelevant when I discovered Google Analytics was a much better substitute for Yahoo!'s stats page anyway.
If you're a self-conscious middle-schooler with thick hair, rainy days cause one frizzy debacle after another.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "debacle” means when you can explain it without saying “catastrophe” or “tumultuous breakup of ice."
Think of the last time your plans fell completely apart, and fill in the blanks: "I handled the _____ debacle by/with _____."
Example: "I handled the screaming-baby debacle with a swift exit from the store."
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:
Our game for May is: “What Do These Words Have in Common?”
The three words given will have something specific in common. (More than one right answer might be possible, but I've only got one particular answer in mind for each set of words.) I've arranged the questions from easiest to hardest, so today’s should still be pretty easy. By the end of the month, expect some whoppers.
From yesterday:
What do these words have in common?: level, civic, deified
Answer: All are palindromes (words spelled the same backward and forward.)
Try this one today: scissors, doldrums, cattle
A Point Well Made:
Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
1. The opposite of DEBACLE is
A. TRIUMPH
B. COMPROMISE
C. ACCEPTANCE
2. It used to be that celebrity debacles could be kept fairly private, but now everyone on Twitter and Facebook can learn about _____.
A. why that actor really turned down a series of lucrative endorsement offers
B. how that star you love to hate just got arrested for indecent public behavior
C. how that musician actually takes no more than ten minutes to write each song
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. A
2. B
"DEBACLE" Pronunciation:
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