Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ÉCLAT
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"ÉCLAT"
Pronunciation:
ay KLAH
(The T is silent. Pronounce the second syllable just like the "CLO" in "CLOCK.")
Part of speech:
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 “the éclat,” “such éclat,” “a lot of éclat,” “no éclat,” and so on, but you usually don’t say “éclats.”
Meaning:
Éclat is dazzling, brilliant success (or dazzling, brilliant showiness).
Other forms:
none
How to use it:
Talk about doing something with éclat or something happening with éclat, giving an air of éclat to something, gaining or losing éclat, and so on. You can also just talk about something's éclat or the éclat of something, as in "the art gallery's éclat" and "the éclat of the film."
According to what I've been told, in Hawaiian culture, a child's first birthday is traditionally celebrated with greatest éclat, on par with a wedding.
So many little accessory products have burst onto the market on the borrowed éclat of the iPhone and iPad.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "éclat” means when you can explain it without saying “brilliance” or “elaborate."
Think of something that used to be amazingly successful, and fill in the blanks: "The éclat of _____ seems to have faded, and now _____."
Example: "The éclat of Epcot seems to have faded, and now it's just like a bunch of wheezing, creaky rides through the year 2015 as imagined in the 1980s."
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
Playing With Words:
Messages that go through an automated translator into several languages and back into English again often end up sounding funny and garbled-- but still somehow meaningful. We’re having fun with that phenomenon this month as we play our game: Guess the moral from Aesop’s Fables after it has been translated into a few foreign languages and back again by a computer program. Some of the morals may be very familiar to you, others not so much. You don’t need to quote Aesop verbatim but rather just understand the message being conveyed. Try it out each day and see the right answer the following day.
Yesterday’s answer: The translation-babble said, “So, then, without a great slaughter, should take the less heavy.” Aesop said, “We must put up with less serious losses in order to avoid worse ones.”
Try this one today: “You see what power and gnat should be, given that angry fear of elephants.”
A Point Well Made:
Kate Chopin: “She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.”
1. The opposite of ÉCLAT is
A. APPETIZER
B. FLAT-OUT FAILURE
C. SUREFOOTEDNESS
2. The first movie _____, but the second arrived with much less éclat.
A. landed in theaters with hardly any promotions heralding it
B. thrilled only the fans of the book on which it was based
C. opened with fanfare, hype, and instant profits
Answers are below.
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Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.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. C
"ÉCLAT" Pronunciation:
ay KLAH
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