Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AMULET

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connect today's word to others: Check out this scene from Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: A seedy-looking little wizard was rattling armfuls of silver symbols on chains at passersby. "One for your little girl, madam?" he called at Mrs. Weasley as they passed, leering at Ginny. "Protect her pretty neck?" "If I were on duty…" said Mr. Weasley, glaring angrily at the amulet seller.  Clearly, even in some magical worlds, amulets have a bad reputation for being hokum, flimflam, or leg____main--that is, trickery with a magical flavor. But there was a time when people put their full faith in amulets (in items worn as magical protectors, also known as tal____ns), probably starting in antiquity and extending to at least the middle of the fifteenth century, and it was right around the years 77-79 AD when a form of the word amulet first appeared. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "AMULET" Strictly speaking, an amulet is an object (like a jewel, a horn, or a figurine) that someone wears, often as a necklace, because he or she believes it gives them magical protection (like from evil, sickness, or witchcraft). Loosely speaking, an amulet is anything that seems like a magical protective object. Pronunciation: AM yuh lit Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind ("an amulet," "their amulets"). Other forms: The plural is "amulets." The adjective is "amuletic," pronounced "am yuh LET ick." How to use it: You might talk literally about archeologists discovering amulets and museums displaying them. Or, talk literally or figuratively about people wearing, using, trusting, or carrying amulets. You can also say someone wears something as an amulet, or that someone wears or uses an amulet against some evil force or undesired outcome: "she wore the shark's tooth as an amulet against the forces of darkness;" "he wore the crystal as an amulet against failing the exam." Add an adjective, if you like, and talk about ancient or traditional amulets, religious or spiritual amulets, stone or iron amulets, exotic or beautiful amulets, etc. examples: This medicine did nothing for the headache; I might as well have whispered "abracadabra" and waved an amulet over my head. "She wore a scapular with the images worn away by sweat, and on her right wrist the fang of a carnivorous animal mounted on a backing of copper as an amulet against the evil eye."    — Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967 study it: Explain the meaning of "amulet" without saying "magic charm" or "protection against evil." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) clasps (some object or idea) like an amulet against (some bad thing or outcome)." Example: "She clasps her stuffed bunny like an amulet against bad dreams." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Tidbits and Titles! I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. From our previous issue: Here's a quote from a book: "Life for both sexes—and I look at them, shouldering their way along the pavement—is arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion that we are, it calls for confidence in oneself." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: criticism, emotion, Emily Brontë, heart, imagination, London, luncheon parties, Oxbridge, poetry, sentence, sitting-room, women and fiction, write. What's the book's title? Answer: A Room of One's Own. Try this today: Here's a quote from a novel: "Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that novel: castle, centaurs, coats, Deep Magic, four thrones, mane, river, snow, Stone Table, Turkish Delight, whispered, wonder, wood. What's the novel's title? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of AMULETIC is A. JINXING. B. EXCITING. C. SOOTHING. 2. Familiar songs played on the radio, like amulets _____ the fog along the dark mountain highway. A. awash in B. calling out rhythmically through C. against the terror that might creep up from  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