Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BLITZKRIEG
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connect this word to others:
When you see the words blitz ("lightning") and blitzkrieg ("lightning war"), you might think immediately of the terror and violence of World War II. But you don't have to.
You could think of football players pulling blitzes: moves that suddenly disrupt other plays. You could think of the speedy flight of Donner and Blitzen: in English, "Thunder" and "Lightning."
Or you could think of BlitzMail. Back when Facebook was The Facebook and my husband was my boyfriend, I was visiting him at his college in the northeast when I realized that he and his friends didn't say "email" or "I'll email you;" they said "blitz" and "I'll blitz you." Their school's email system was called BlitzMail, a wonderful name for a lightning-fast service.
Still, we'll start by tracing blitzkrieg back to its bloody beginnings in WWII Germany, where it first meant "lightning war: a crushing, decisive, final attack."
From Germany in 1940, if we scoot backward to 1815 and westward to Belgium, we'll reach a village where Napoleon was totally defeated, the source of our word w____loo, meaning "a crushing, decisive, final defeat." Can you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"BLITZKRIEG"
This is German for "lightning war."
Strictly speaking, the Blitz was the series of air-raids that Germany made on London in 1940. And, I'm quoting from history buff David Kindy here, "Blitzkrieg was a style of warfare invented by the Nazis that coordinated air, land and artillery attacks to overcome enemy resistance in quick order. Modern radios led to improved mobility of armored forces, which now could be supported with air and artillery assaults to blast enemy positions and allow ground attacks to continue swiftly."
So, more loosely speaking, a blitzkrieg is a sudden, powerful attack on an enemy, or anything that seems like a sudden, powerful attack.
Pronunciation:
BLITS kreeg
Part of speech:
Noun, usually the countable kind ("a blitzkrieg," "several blitzkriegs," "they launched their blitzkrieg") .
And sometimes we use it as an adjective: "blitzkrieg methods," "a blitzkrieg tempo," "this blitzkrieg scenario."
Other forms:
blitzkriegs
How to use it:
This word is much more common than some of our other German borrowings (like fremdscham and Weltanschauung), so feel free to drop it into casual conversation.
It's a harsh, violent word, one you can use in earnest: "a blitzkrieg of lies and bigotry" (Salon), "the Islamic State’s blitzkrieg rise to power" (Washington Times).
Or, you might use it for humor and exaggeration: "a blitzkrieg of birdies" (Golf Digest), "romantic blitzkrieg — as many as seven dates a week" (Los Angeles Times).
Basically, if you can compare it to a swift and devastating military onslaught, you can call it a blitzkrieg.
examples:
"The local cuisine was a little more sausage-based than I'm used to, and the result was an internal blitzkrieg with my lower intestine playing the part of Czechoslovakia."
— Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, The Big Bang Theory, 31 March 2008
"Vacations often resemble a blitzkrieg of organized movement with every moment of the trip preplanned and orchestrated for maximum efficiency and, of course, pleasure!"
— Al Gini, The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and Vacations, 2006
has this page helped you understand "blitzkrieg"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "blitzkrieg" without saying "assault" or "bombardment."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something) came on fast and strong with a blitzkrieg of _____."
Example: "I wanted to browse quietly through the colorful drawstring skirts and bangle bracelets, but she came on fast and strong with a blitzkrieg of sales tactics."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Big Bang Thicket."
In each issue, hack your way through the polysyllabic title of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer the question about what happens in that episode.
From the previous issue:
In "The Desperation Emanation," Leonard is desperate for a girlfriend. Does Leonard hide this desperation, or does it affect his friendships?
Answer:
It affects his friendships. When something emanates, it flows outward, affecting its surroundings.
Try this one today:
In "The Toast Derivation," does Sheldon enjoy teaching people where the word “toast” came from, or does he insist on turning social toasts into long, drawn-out rituals?
review this word:
1. A near opposite of BLITZKRIEG is
A. TORRENT.
B. INVITATION.
C. WITHDRAWAL.
2. The night before the final exam, she _____ in an academic blitzkrieg.
A. hit the books hard
B. shut her door and sequestered herself
C. seriously questioned her choice of career path
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.
When you see the words blitz ("lightning") and blitzkrieg ("lightning war"), you might think immediately of the terror and violence of World War II. But you don't have to.
"BLITZKRIEG" This is German for "lightning war."
"The local cuisine was a little more sausage-based than I'm used to, and the result was an internal blitzkrieg with my lower intestine playing the part of Czechoslovakia."
Explain the meaning of "blitzkrieg" without saying "assault" or "bombardment."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something) came on fast and strong with a blitzkrieg of _____."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of BLITZKRIEG is
|