Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HARRY
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pronounce
HARRY:
Say it "HAIR ee."
(The same as "hairy.")
Hear it here.
connect this word to others:
She rushed into the meeting, looking tired and harried, dropping her phone, smoothing down the frizz in her bangs from the rain.
Everyone reading that sentence knows exactly what it means. Everyone can picture it. But what does the word harried actually mean? Hurried? Tired? Disheveled?
Hmm. Do you know?
Here's another example, this time from Joseph Heller:
Deep otter-brown lines of preoccupation etched themselves permanently into his careworn face and gave him a harried look of sobriety and mistrust.
Again, it's easy to picture that. But what is a harried look, on its own? Is it a look of wrinkles and advanced age? Is it a look of preoccupation? Careworn...ness? Sobriety? Mistrust?
If you're like me, you learned the word harried from context, from sentences like those above. You've got the gist of it.
But what does it mean?
And why am I being so annoying right now? Why don't I just do my job and give you the definition?
I'm harrying you! I'm sorry. Here it is. By definition, to harry is to bother or worry someone. I definitely didn't know that before I looked it up.
I think many of us have a similar gap in our vocabulary around the word harrowing. We easily recognize a harrowing situation, but we might not know what it actually means to harrow something. Could you explain it?
definition:
"Harry" comes from Old English. It originally meant "to raid, to ravage, to lay waste"—something an invading army would do to a town. Here's an example from 1565: "They passed through the country and herried and slew wherever they came."
Very violent! Over time, though, the meaning softened up, and these days "harry" most often means "to bother, harass, or worry someone, usually over and over or for a long time."
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "The seagulls harried us;" "We're all harried by rising costs."
Other forms:
Harried, harrying.
how to use it:
Pick the formal, semi-common verb "harry" when you want to emphasize how someone is visibly stressed or annoyed (and probably has been for a long time).
Most often, we turn this verb into a past participle: "His mind was harried by worries." "The plane fills with harried passengers." "Grant me a little peace. Isn't it enough that I am harried all day long at work? (John Kennedy Toole)."
examples:
"Mr. Waterman bustles in looking merry but harried, like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve just before the big ride."
— Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything, 2015
"A man, dapper and lean and elderly, approached them, hand extended; on his face a harried expression showed, as if everything recently had begun happening too fast."
— Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 2009
has this page helped you understand "harry"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "harry" without saying "pester" or "stress out."
try it out:
Talk about something you do only when you're harried: when you're stressed, worried, and bothered.
It might be something you do on accident (like leaving your phone at home), or something you do on purpose to cope (like getting a comforting takeout meal).
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 this month is "The Words are Hard, the Titles are Silly, and the Points Don't Matter!"
In each issue, try matching a given term to a silly title. For example, match the term “desultory” to the video game title “If It Moves, Shoot It!” because desultory methods are random, disorganized, and unmethodical.
If you need a definition for a term, give it a click. Scroll all the way down to see my suggested matches. Give yourself a point for each match you make that matches my match! And give yourself two points for any match that mismatches mine, as long as you can make up some reason for your match, no matter how half-baked.
Try these today:
Terms:
A. charlatan
B. eccentricity
C. troglodyte
Tabletop game titles:
1. Poetry for Neanderthals
2. Quacks of Quedlinburg
3. Weird Things Humans Search For
review this word:
A. RAREFIED (smart, noble, and sophisticated).
B. UNFLAPPABLE (cool, calm, and unbothered by anything).
C. JADED (dull, weary, exhausted, and unable to really care anymore).
2.
According to a Verge article by Alexis Ong, _____ are popular with harried students.
A. digital avatars
B. nostalgic ringtones
C. convenient meal substitutes
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:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
A 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.
She rushed into the meeting, looking tired and harried, dropping her phone, smoothing down the frizz in her bangs from the rain.
"Harry" comes from Old English. It originally meant "to raid, to ravage, to lay waste"—something an invading army would do to a town. Here's an example from 1565: "They passed through the country and herried and slew wherever they came."
Part of speech:
Pick the formal, semi-common verb "harry" when you want to emphasize how someone is visibly stressed or annoyed (and probably has been for a long time).
"Mr. Waterman bustles in looking merry but harried, like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve just before the big ride."
Explain the meaning of "harry" without saying "pester" or "stress out."
Talk about something you do only when you're harried: when you're stressed, worried, and bothered.
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.
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. |