Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AFICIONADO

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

explore the archives: He's a film buff. She's a history buff. When it means "fan" or "devotee," does the word buff rub you the wrong way? To me, the silly sound of it can ruin a serious statement. I'm a vocabulary buff? Ew. I'm a vocabulary aficionado. But trading one syllable (buff) for five or six (aficionado) is risky; we don't want to sound snobby or bombastic. Generally speaking, unless there's a good reason to pick a long word, we pick a short one. In fact, let's practice. For each of the long words below, can you think of a one-syllable synonym?    A ruination is a b___.        An insufficiency is a d_____.    To supersaturate is to g___. make your point with... "AFICIONADO" Spanish for "amateur" and "fan of bullfighting," an aficionado is a devoted fan. In other words, an aficionado is someone who loves some particular subject or activity and knows a lot about it. Pronunciation: Either "uh FISH ee uh NOD oh" or "uh FISH uh NOD oh." Other ways are also correct. 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 aficionado or multiple aficionados.) Other forms: The plural is "aficionados." An aficionada is a female devoted fan, but you won't see that word much in English. How to use it: Say that someone is a jazz aficionado, a baseball aficionado, a pulp fiction aficionado, etc., or say someone is an aficionado of something: an aficionado of trains, an aficionado of bluegrass music. You can also talk about aficionados in the plural: "it's an interesting fact about the stadium known only to aficionados," "the documentary is sure to please crossword aficionados." "Aficionado" is fancier and more formal than its synonyms, but you can still use it to joke around: "Aficionados of irony will enjoy how this story ends," "I'm a Swiss Cake Rolls aficionado." examples: Vanity Fair showcased a beautiful actress demonstrating a technically flawed piqué turn, offending ballet aficionados everywhere. I like clothes shopping as much as the next girl, but no one would mistake me for a true aficionado of fashion. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "aficionado" means when you can explain it without saying "connoisseur" or "follower." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(A certain type of) aficionados gather at (a certain place or event)." Example: "Wine aficionados gather every year at the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond, where over 650 unique bottles are available to sample." 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. License Plate Words! You’ve spotted a cluster of three letters on a license plate. Keep all three letters together—don’t insert any letters between them—but add any letters you like to the left and/or right of the cluster to form words. For example, when you spot the cluster CKG, you can form BACKGROUND and BACKGAMMON (and all their related words, like BACKGROUNDER and BACKGAMMONING, for a total of 8 possible words). We’ll move from easy to hard clusters as the month goes on. (For the curious, you can generate a complete list of answers using a tool like this one.) Let's play! Our previous question: If you spot the cluster CCO, you can use it to form 164 words. Give yourself a minute or so. How many can you think of? Possible answers: You may have thought of ACCOLADE, ACCOMMODATE, ACCOMPLISH, ACCORD, ACCOUNT, BROCCOLI, HICCOUGH, PICCOLO, RACCOON, STUCCO, SUCCOR, and/or TOBACCO. Try this today: If you spot the cluster JOU, you can use it to form 107 words. Give yourself a minute or so. How many can you think of? review today's word: 1. The closest opposite of AFICIONADO is A. ZEALOT B. FOUNDER C. OPPONENT 2. In a _____ article, TIME referred to Bill Murray as _____ aficionado. A. hard-hitting .. an acting B. lighthearted .. a French fry C. well-researched .. in general an 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. C 2. B