Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ALCHEMY

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connect today's word to others: Science, magic, and mysticism all swirl together in today's word: alchemy. We've studied a couple terms before with roots in alchemy: First, see if you can recall a 5-letter word that starts with A that originally described people who were believed to have mastered magic or alchemy. Today, that A-word simply means "skillful and knowledgeable in a particular subject." And second, see if you can recall a 2-word Latin phrase for "great work" that, in alchemy, means "the process of creating a magical stone that gives eternal life"--but that more generally means "someone's greatest artistic or literary creation." make your point with... "ALCHEMY" In medieval times, alchemy was a blend of science and magic. The alchemist's goal was to turn things into gold and to make (or find) a magical stone or elixir that would give people everlasting life. More generally, "alchemy" can mean "trickery." But these days, more often, an alchemy is a process (or a combination of things) that seems magical, mysterious, and sort of scientific. Pronunciation: AL kuh me Part of speech: Noun. It's both a countable noun ("an alchemy") and an uncountable noun ("the alchemy," "some alchemy," "much alchemy"). Other forms: People who use or practice alchemy are alchemists. You can call things alchemical. You can alchemize something, meaning you create it (or change it) by using alchemy. And you might call things alchemized (created or changed by alchemy) or alchemizing (creating or changing other things with alchemy). How to use it: We often talk about an alchemy, or a specific type of alchemy: human alchemy, a strange alchemy, a weird alchemy, a subtle alchemy. More specifically, we'll say that something is an alchemy, or that something is an alchemy of something: "the alchemy of meditation," "the alchemy of blues singing;" "the show is an alchemy of literary references and dark humor," "the atmosphere was an alchemy of joy and nerves." Here's the poet Louis Macneice: "The park becomes a jungle in the alchemy of night." Or, say that there's an alchemy in the air, that someone performs alchemy, that something exerts an alchemy, that something is done with alchemy or accomplished by alchemy, that the alchemy behind a process involves a certain combination of things, and so on. To use the adjective, talk about alchemical elements, alchemical formulas, alchemical processes and transformations, alchemical fusions and combinations, alchemical products and results, etc. examples: In an alchemy of time, place, and hilariously awkward memories, our friendship reignited. Despite doing my best to adhere to the recipe, I still couldn't master the subtle alchemy of biscuit-making. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "alchemy" means when you can explain it without saying "magic" or "pseudoscience." try it out: Fill in the blank: "(An artistic, mysterious, or difficult skill or process) is more an alchemy than a science." Example: "Getting my three-year-old to eat vegetables is more an alchemy than a science." 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. Last month, we played with some beautifully worded passages from the Bible as we recalled words we've studied before. From our previous issue: "Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names i_______ in the Book of Life." (The Message, Revelation, chapter 3, verse 5.) What's the missing word? It means "not erasable, not able to be deleted or gotten rid of." Answer: indelible. Now, a new game for November: "Coiners & Coinages." Use your knowledge of science, history, literature, and vocabulary as you match newly coined words to the people who coined them, and vice versa. Let's play! Try this today: Did J. R. R. Tolkien coin the word ELF, HOBBIT, or WRAITH? review today's word: 1. An ALCHEMY might also be called an A. ACCOLADE. B. ADVERSITY. C. AGGLOMERATION. 2. In some _____ alchemical process, _____. A. dull .. our applications shuffled from one department to another B. stressful .. her worry built into a raging panic C. dark .. their dislike transmuted into malice Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's 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. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C