Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RHADAMANTHINE
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connect today's word to others:
Our word Rhadamanthine means "brutal and rigid in judgment."
Let's set the scene with this excerpt from Virgil's The Aeneid:
Oh! whence that peal of groans? what pains are those?
What crimes could merit such stupendous woes? ...
I learnt the secrets of those dire abodes,
With all the tortures of the vengeful gods.
Here Rhadamanthus holds his awful reign,
Hears and condemns the trembling impious train.
Terrifying, right?
Significantly less scary than Rhadamanthine are some of our other words that reference myths: Herculean, Sibylline, nepenthean, and labyrinthine. Could you explain their meanings?
make your point with...
"RHADAMANTHINE"
According to some accounts of Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus (or Rhadamanthys) was a harsh, inflexible judge of souls in the underworld who condemned those he judged as impure to be punished forever.
So, someone or something Rhadamanthine shows harsh, inflexible judgment.
Pronunciation:
ROD uh MAN theen
Part of speech:
Proper adjective.
You always capitalize proper adjectives, like "Korean," "Shakespearean," and "Christian."
(Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late."
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in "Rhadamanthine law."
2. After a linking verb, as in "Their laws were Rhadamanthine.")
Other forms:
An older adjective is "Rhadamanthean," also spelled "Rhadamanthian."
And you might refer to someone as a Rhadamanthus.
How to use it:
I recommend saving this very rare word for a situation that's formal, academic, or sophisticated.
Talk about Rhadamanthine people, like Rhadamanthine critics and judges, or about Rhadamanthine laws, rules, policies, justice, decrees, orders, judgments, cruelty, harshness, severity, etc.
examples:
After the student was attacked by her classmate, it seemed to us a kind of thoughtless, Rhadamanthine justice for the principal to suspend her for being involved in the fight.
"She was ... afraid of a tête-à-tête with her husband, and she wanted to give him ample opportunity of going to sleep before she joined him. However, when she entered the room, she found him wide awake and looking like Rhadamanthus in an extremely bad temper."
— William Charles Scully, By Veldt and Kopje, 1907
study it now:
Look away from the screen to define "Rhadamanthine" without saying "unyielding" or "cruel."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Some real or fictional person) plays Rhadamanthus, (judging or punishing people harshly or inflexibly in some specific way)."
Example: "Javert plays Rhadamanthus, chasing after a one-time bread thief with a wholly inappropriate zeal."
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.
Complete the Limerick!
In each issue this month, finish off the last line of the poem with a word or phrase we've checked out before.
From the previous issue:
The black-and-white thinking I did
Had me trapped in a two-column grid:
"If it's not A, it's B;"
As if there were no C:
As if there were no tertium quid.
Try this one today:
It's a true-or-false quiz, ugh, and get this:
There's a statement with wording ambiguous.
In one sense, it's correct;
In the other, a wreck:
A scholastic ____________________.
review today's word:
1. The opposite of RHADAMANTHINE is
A. CLEMENT.
B. SIMPLISTIC.
C. UNINTELLIGENT.
2. The employee appeared _____, as if called up before Rhadamanthus.
A. bored
B. boldly defiant
C. to quake in fear
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. A
2. C
Our word Rhadamanthine means "brutal and rigid in judgment."
"RHADAMANTHINE" According to some accounts of Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus (or Rhadamanthys) was a harsh, inflexible judge of souls in the underworld who condemned those he judged as impure to be punished forever.
After the student was attacked by her classmate, it seemed to us a kind of thoughtless, Rhadamanthine justice for the principal to suspend her for being involved in the fight.
Look away from the screen to define "Rhadamanthine" without saying "unyielding" or "cruel."
Fill in the blanks: "(Some real or fictional person) plays Rhadamanthus, (judging or punishing people harshly or inflexibly in some specific way)."
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. The opposite of RHADAMANTHINE is
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. |