Make Your Point > Archived Issues > APOCRYPHAL

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pronounce APOCRYPHAL: Say it "uh POCK riff ull." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Yup: not true, or not wholly true, or not even said by the guy in the photo. In other words, apocryphal. Some of those Internet quotes might feel true and even offer true insight but still be entirely made up. As the Italian phrase goes, "Se non è vero, è molto b__ tr____o," meaning, "If it is not true, it is a happy invention." Could you recall that missing bit? We use it in English to mean "made up, but still appropriate: having a ring of truth despite being false." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: Our word "apocryphal" has Greek roots that literally mean "hidden away," which explains why it looks like the words "crypt" and "cryptic." Let's say you're holding a really old book. It doesn't say who wrote it--or, it does have an author's name, but you suspect it wasn't really written by that guy. The book's origins are "hidden away," or literally apocryphal. In English, we first used a form of "apocrypha" to mean "suspicious publications," or in other words, "things that were written that people suspect are actually not genuine, or not really written by the author as claimed." Specifically, the Apocrypha are a group of fourteen books of the Bible, translated into Greek, that some groups have rejected as being not valid or not genuine. More generally, if you refer to some story, statement, or piece of writing as apocryphal, you mean that it's fully or partly made-up. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "an apocryphal story;" "That statement was apocryphal." Other forms worth knowing:  apocryphally, apocryphalness how to use it: This word is formal, semi-common, and scholarly-sounding. And it often has a slightly negative tone. In general, if you call something apocryphal, you're pointing out that it isn't accurate or trustworthy, even though it's commonly believed or commonly circulated. But the tone can also simply be factual. You might call something apocryphal as a way of quickly acknowledging that, although something didn't actually happen, or although someone didn't actually say that, it doesn't really matter. Talk about apocryphal stories, claims, quotes, anecdotes, publications, urban legends, etc.  examples: "Fave style accents include multiple facial piercings, necklaces made of bones and animal teeth, and hippie braids threaded through beads. Apparently, they’ve never heard of Coco Chanel's apocryphal style rule: 'Look in the mirror before you leave the house and remove one accessory.'"    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 9 June 2016 "There's an anecdote, possibly apocryphal, about David Bowie strolling in drag through a Texas town in the 1970s when a policeman challenged him, 'Hey — where're you going in that woman's dress?'"    — Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times, 8 June 2012 has this page helped you understand "apocryphal"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "apocryphal" without saying "probably fake" or "unauthentic." try it out: In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson wrote: "In 1907, or so it has sometimes been written, Albert Einstein saw a workman fall off a roof and began to think about gravity. Alas, like many good stories this one appears to be apocryphal." With this story in mind as an example, talk about another good story that's probably apocryphal. If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for March is "Yup, that's a real word." Check out the definition of a silly-sounding word--yes, a real one, from the Oxford English Dictionary--and see if you can come up with the word itself. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Here's an example: "This three-syllable noun ending in the -ship suffix (as in 'friendship' and 'fellowship') means 'skill in traversing snow.'" The answer is "snowmanship." (Yup, that’s a real word!) Try this one today: This five-syllable noun sounds like it might be a class at Hogwarts (somewhere between "Arithmancy" and "Xylomancy") that requires swapping out your wand for a certain flat handheld kitchen tool. However, it actually means "the art of telling the future by referring to animals' shoulder blades." review this word: 1. The opposite of APOCRYPHAL is A. OBVIOUS. B. YOUTHFUL. C. AUTHENTIC. 2. So many of the stories we swap are apocryphal, the products of our endless game of cultural _____. A. tag B. telephone C. hide and seek Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B Answer to the game question: Spatulamancy. Sounds like it helps you get a mixing bowl licked magically clean of cake batter. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my 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.