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Dictionaries often list literal meanings first. To get to the good stuff, the figurative meanings, you have to keep reading. This is the case with thresh: to literally beat the seeds free from grains, or to figuratively beat ideas hard by talking them over. Suzanne Collins had both meanings in mind, I'm sure, when she named her character Thresh, a boy associated with both wheat fields and brute strength.
Could you recall the figurative meanings for these words?
Quotidian: happening once a day, or...
Vanguard: the very front section of an army, or...
Zenith: the point in the sky that's directly above you, or...
make your point with...
"THRESH"
"Thresh," a variant of "thrash," has many meanings; we'll focus on just a few.
But first, remember winnow? It means to let the wind blow through some grains so that the small particles blow away, or to get rid of the parts of something you don't want so that you're left only with the parts you do want.
"Thresh" is the more violent version of that. To thresh grain is to beat it to get out the unwanted particles. To thresh people is to beat them, usually with harsh words. And to thresh things out, or to thresh things from other things, is to think or talk or argue about them thoroughly so you can work toward the truest or best version of those things. (You thresh out ideas, subjects, and topics--not objects.)
Pronunciation:
THRESH (rhymes with "fresh")
Part of speech:
Transitive verb.
(Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object.
You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone.
Likewise, you thresh things or people.)
Other forms:
threshed, threshing
How to use it:
First, you might talk about people threshing other people: "In one open letter after another, he and his ideas have been ruthlessly threshed."
More often, when you're thinking or talking exhaustively about certain ideas, subjects, topics, plans, solutions, decisions, details, questions and so on, you're threshing things out, or threshing the good stuff from the bad stuff. (Or vice versa, you're threshing the bad stuff from the good stuff--the phrase works either way.) The general idea here is usually that you're working toward the truth, or working toward the best plan or solution.
examples:
I've been threshing out the details for the past several weeks, and now the book's draft is coming together.
At the first meeting, we came up with a heap of ideas. At the second, we threshed them out. Guess which meeting took six times longer.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "thresh" means when you can explain it without saying "strike" or "discuss."
try it out:
Think of an event or topic that got too much attention in the media. Fill in the blank: "(Something happened), a matter that was threshed over and over again in the media."
Example: "Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise divorced, a matter that was threshed over and over again in the media."
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.
This month, we're playing "You Know, That Thing!"
This game challenges your powers of recall. Start a timer: twenty seconds if you're an adult, longer if you're a kid or an English language learner. Read the description of each thing, and come up with its name. Try to name all three before your timer runs out. (Scroll all the way down for the answers.)
Ready? Go!
1. A window or group of windows that pokes out from the wall and makes a recess in the room is a...
2. The kind of car with a top or hood that can be collapsed is a...
3. The painting of words or images onto public property, illegally, is...
review today's word:
1. One opposite of THRESH is
A. RUN UP AGAINST
B. GLOSS OVER
C. DERIDE
2. Conversation, or writing in a journal, helps us thresh out _____.
A. pros and cons
B. fluency in a new language
C. the ability to recall words quickly
Answers are below.
a final word:
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, 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. A
Answers to game questions:
1. bay window
2. convertible or cabriolet
3. graffiti
Dictionaries often list literal meanings first. To get to the good stuff, the figurative meanings, you have to keep reading. This is the case with thresh: to literally beat the seeds free from grains, or to figuratively beat ideas hard by talking them over. Suzanne Collins had both meanings in mind, I'm sure, when she named her character Thresh, a boy associated with both wheat fields and brute strength.
"THRESH" "Thresh," a variant of "thrash," has many meanings; we'll focus on just a few. Pronunciation: Part of speech:
I've been threshing out the details for the past several weeks, and now the book's draft is coming together.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "thresh" means when you can explain it without saying "strike" or "discuss."
Think of an event or topic that got too much attention in the media. Fill in the blank: "(Something happened), a matter that was threshed over and over again in the media."
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.
1. One opposite of THRESH is
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
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