Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BANDY
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pronounce
BANDY:
Say it "BAN dee."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Today we're checking out the word bandy, meaning "toss around," which we most often use to talk about people tossing words around:
"They keep bandying that term around."
"People have been bandying that phrase around a lot."
"That word gets bandied about way too much these days."
To put that differently, the word bandy often helps us talk about w____words: popular, trendy, important words that express strong feelings, often in support of social causes. Could you recall that one?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We're not totally sure where the word "bandy" comes from. Etymologists disagree about it.
To bandy something is to toss it back and forth or toss it around.
Although you could bandy literal things, like a ball, or punches, most often we use the word figuratively: to bandy something is to talk or think about it casually, as if you're tossing it around.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "They're bandying that word about;" "It gets bandied around a lot."
Other forms:
bandied, bandying
how to use it:
When you're talking about how people are tossing words or ideas around lightly, casually, or even thoughtlessly, and you need a word that's more sophisticated and slightly more formal than "kick around," "knock around," or "keep talking about," pick the word "bandy."
Talk about people bandying things about or around.
Most often, it's words and phrases that we bandy about. But it can also be plans, ideas, rumors, possibilities, etc.
examples:
"All of the pieces of advice we're hearing bandied about for surviving isolation—get outside!"
— Rebecca Onion, Slate, 26 March 2020
"We're all familiar with the statistics being bandied about: that CEOs now get some vast multiple of the average wage and that this is a disgrace."
— Tim Worstall, Forbes, 25 September 2014
has this page helped you understand "bandy"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "bandy" without saying "toss around" or "discuss."
try it out:
In your own field, or within the realm of a hobby or interest of yours, what's a word or phrase that people bandy around a lot without really understanding it?
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.
Our game for October is "Silly Smashings!"
In each issue this month, I'll give you the definition of a word I've concocted by smashing together two words we've studied before.
See if you can come up with the same silly smashing that I did.
For example, I'll say, "This noun means 'an extremely outdated, old-fashioned, ill-considered assumption that there are only two ways of dealing with a certain problem.'" And you'll say, "That's a troglodichotomy." (Which is a silly smashing of troglodyte and dichotomy.)
I'll list the answer at the bottom of each issue. Maybe your answer will match mine. Or maybe yours will be even better; if so, be sure to share it with me!
Try this one today:
This pseudo-Latin two-word phrase means "Make haste lazily." It reminds you to hurry up and get busy pretending to be busy, so that people won't disturb your plans to be lazy.
And an extra, just for fun:
This ten-syllable noun means "a very long, very silly, very unnecessary word for a concept that truly does not even exist."
review this word:
1. A near opposite of MUCH-BANDIED is
A. EASY.
B. TABOO.
C. LAUGHABLE.
2. The historian Gertrude Himmelfarb said, "We didn't just bandy _____. We _____."
A. around slogans .. argued vigorously
B. from photographs .. read voraciously
C. in old newspapers .. searched relentlessly
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.
Say it "BAN dee."
Today we're checking out the word bandy, meaning "toss around," which we most often use to talk about people tossing words around:
We're not totally sure where the word "bandy" comes from. Etymologists disagree about it.
Part of speech:
When you're talking about how people are tossing words or ideas around lightly, casually, or even thoughtlessly, and you need a word that's more sophisticated and slightly more formal than "kick around," "knock around," or "keep talking about," pick the word "bandy."
"All of the pieces of advice we're hearing bandied about for surviving isolation—get outside!"
Explain the meaning of "bandy" without saying "toss around" or "discuss."
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.
1. A near opposite of MUCH-BANDIED is
|