Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DAHLESQUE

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connect today's word to others: Many thanks to Suhail, the reader who brought to my attention the wonderful word Dahlesque. When you were a kid, you probably read lots of books by Roald Dahl (1916-1990), so you remember James, his giant peach, and his abusive aunts; Matilda, her telepathy, and her abusive parents; George, his marvelous medicine, and his abusive grandma; and--let's break the pattern just a bit--Charlie, his chocolate factory, and his crippling poverty; and Sophie, her labeled jars of dreams, her orphanhood, and her run-ins with child-eating giants. Things that echo that kind of infuriating cruelty to children, or that kind of whimsical impossibility, or both, are Dahlesque. Dahlesque is pretty new: it first appeared in print in 1983, and it earned a place in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016.  Let's recall a similar word that first appeared in print in 1947: ____esque. It means "scary, bizarre, and dreamlike," in a way that reminds you of stories by an author who lived from 1883-1924--stories both weird and terrifying. In one, a man gets arrested and killed by the government for no particular reason. In another, a man turns into a giant cockroach. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "DAHLESQUE" Something Dahlesque reminds you of something in a Roald Dahl story, because it's strange and imaginative, full of dark humor, and/or related to adults being horribly cruel to children. Pronunciation: doll ESK Part of speech: Proper adjective: you always capitalize it. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a Dahlesque thing" or "a Dahlesque person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was Dahlesque" or "He was Dahlesque.") Other forms: none How to use it: Because this word is so new, because it can be misheard as "doll-esque," and because not everybody is familiar with Roald Dahl's work, it's probably best to use it in your writing rather than your conversations. That is, unless you're sure your listeners will understand it. We often use this word to describe works of fiction that remind you of Dahl's: Dahlesque characters, Dahlesque elements, a Dahlesque tone, mood, style, or flavor. But we can also use this word more generally to talk about real life: Dahlesque exaggeration, Dahlesque whimsy and delight, Dahlesque humor, Dahlesque peculiarity, etc. You might remember from Dahl's stories all those crazy invented words (like "scrumdiddlyumptious") and the dark and rollicking poems ("And cannibals crouching 'round the pot, / Stirring away at something hot. / [It smells so good, what can it be? / Good gracious, it's Penelope]"). With that in mind, you might talk about Dahlesque creativity, Dahlesque wordplay, Dahlesque rhythms and rhymes, etc. Finally, a spoiler alert: Dahl's stories for children usually end well. The miserable kids get happy endings; the abusive adults get what's coming to them. So we might also talk about Dahlesque justice, fairness, or retribution. examples: I love a good Dahlesque story that seems like realistic fiction until, near the end, some magical transformation takes place. How proud he is of his sleazy business sense; how oblivious he is to his own ignorance; how puffed-up he gets and how he loves to put others down. He's a Dahlesque villain, through and through. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "Dahlesque" means when you can explain it without saying "quirky" or "dark." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "There's a bit of Dahlesque humor in _____, when _____." Example: "There's a bit of Dahlesque humor in Frozen Fever, when we see the villain Hans still wearing his princely attire as he shovels manure." 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 "Game of Games!" Guess the one-word title of each board game, using your knowledge of vocabulary. From our previous issue:  Designed by Eric Goldberg, Ben Grossman, Steve Marsh, Steven Marsh, Vincent Tsao, and Nikola Vrtis, this game has players grabbing power as they attempt coups and assassinations. The game's title means "a small group of people that takes control of a country and then rules it, or more generally, a group of people working toward a goal together (often a political goal)." It's pictured below, with the title blurred out. What game is this? Answer: Junta. Check out the game here and the word here. Try this today:  Designed by Jason B. McAllister and David A. Trampier, this game has players waging war with monsters and other mythic beings while trying to become the single most powerful leader. The game's title means "like a giant from Greek myth: an extremely important, extremely famous person or thing (usually a person)." It's pictured below, with the title blurred out. What game is this? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of DAHLESQUE is A. CONTEMPLATIVE. B. REALISTIC. C. ARTISTIC. 2. Her stories have more than a few Dahlesque elements; they mostly end with _____ A. a reversal that leaves us feeling cheated--if it was all a dream, why did we bother? B. blatant, gloomy discussions of the blatant, gloomy theme. C. poetic justice heaped on cartoonish villains. Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's 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. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C