Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FOLDEROL

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explore the archives: Based on the meaningless sounds made in songs, like "fa, la, la, la, la," folderol is nonsense or objects that are flimsy or useless. Some fun synonyms of folderol, in that more literal sense, include knickknack, bric-a-brac, and bag______. Can you recall that last one? make your point with... "FOLDEROL" Folderol is nonsense. In other words, folderol is any talk or any situation that's meaningless, useless, or ridiculous. Also, a folderol can be a useless little object. Pronunciation: FOLD er all Part of speech: Usually, an uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "education," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of education," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many educations." Likewise, talk about "this folderol," "their folderol," "such folderol," "no folderol," and so on.) Sometimes, a countable noun. Talk about "folderols" when you mean "useless items." Other forms: An alternate form is "falderal," pronunced "FAL duh ral." How to use it: When you want to call something "bull" or "bull crap" or worse, try "folderol" instead. Calling something folderol suggests that it's as silly or meaningless as singing "fa la la la" in the refrain of a song (as opposed to singing actual words that have meaning). Talking and writing can be called folderol, situations and events can be called folderol, processes and systems and requirements can be called folderol, etc. You might follow "folderol" with a word like "about" or "over:" "all this folderol about money," "all that folderol over who's getting too thin and who's getting plastic surgery." We might get caught up in folderol or try to avoid folderol; we might tolerate folderol or resist folderol; we might get through the folderol, get past the folderol, nix the folderol, etc. If you like, use an adjective. Examples:    this made-up folderol,    celebratory folderol,    a bit of nuptial folderol,    such messianic folderol,    their narrative folderol, and    some academic folderol. So far, we've been using "folderol" as an uncountable noun to mean "silliness" or "ado," and that's its most common meaning. But we can also use it as a countable noun to mean "trifle," "knickknack," or "useless little object:" you might talk about the cosmetic folderols cluttering up your counter. Similarly, we can use "folderol" as a countable noun to mean "useless stuff" or "random junk:" you might talk about the receipts, business cards, and other folderol cluttering up your car's interior. examples: I feel a little guilty for saying "No thanks" and shutting the door on salespeople, but our time is too valuable for that kind of folderol. Surely in real life, if you won an auction for the contents of someone's storage unit, it'd be packed with folderol you couldn't sell--clothes hangers, school papers, VCR players. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "folderol" means when you can explain it without saying "foolish talk" or "unnecessary stuff." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I've paid little attention to all that folderol (on the news / on Facebook / on the playground, etc.) about _____." Example: "I've paid little attention to all that folderol in my junk mail about how life is amazing if you just mail-order boxes of raw groceries." 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. Our game this month is called "Cousins or Strangers?" Consider two pairs of similar-looking words, and figure out which pair are truly related, like cousins, and which pair are unrelated, like strangers. "Related," of course, is a relative concept (ha ha). We're interested in closeness: "compute" and "computer" are sisters, or variations of the same word; "vision" and "video" are cousins, sharing the same Latin root; but "compute" and "video" are strangers. From our previous issue: Pair A: ISLE and ISLAND. These are the strangers. "Isle" comes from the Latin word meaning "island:" insula. But "island" started out as Old English: igland or iegland. Sources suggest that "igland/iegland" became "island" in the 16th century because it looked so similar to "isle." Pair B: LANCE and FREELANCE. These are the cousins. "Lance" is simply from the Latin for "lance, spear" (lancea), and "freelance," which was probably coined by Sir Walter Scott around 1819, really did mean "free lance:" someone with a spear who was freely available, ready to be hired for payment to go on quests, fight, plunder, etc. Ready to check out two more pairs? Remember, one pair will be cousins; the other, strangers. Which is which? Pair A: FAST and FASTIDIOUS Pair B: EUCALYPTUS and APOCALYPSE review today's word: 1. A close opposite of FOLDEROL is A. DISORGANIZATION B. ESSENTIALS C. VAGARIES 2. She has no tolerance for folderol and wouldn't _____. A. join us at the table until she'd disinfected it B. take the quiz to find out which Game of Thrones character she resembles C. let the kids out to play in the sun before they were thoroughly slathered in SPF 50 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. B 2. B