Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BUMPTIOUS

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connect today's word to others: Only since 1801 or so have we been calling each other bumptious, a funny word that gives our vocabulary more color and, I think, noise. Because bumptious looks so much like bumpkin, I had assumed it meant "like a bumpkin, like a yokel: uncultured, uneducated." Then I looked it up! Bumptious actually means "loud, conceited, arrogant, and self-assertive." It has nothing to do with bumpkins, but rather with bumping. The idea seems to be that the person who swaggers boldly around, bumping into people and knocking them over, is cocky, pushy, and egotistical: bumptious. See if you can recall a synonym of bumptious, one that describes people who are way too confident, as if nobody is allowed to question them or tell them they're wrong: p_____tory. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "BUMPTIOUS" Bumptious people and things are annoying because they're loud and arrogant. Pronunciation: BUMP shuss Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a bumptious thing" or "a bumptious person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was bumptious" or "He was bumptious.") Other forms: bumptiously, bumptiousness How to use it: Talk about bumptious people and personalities, bumptious speech and writing (such as bumptious demands and commands), bumptious behavior and attitudes, bumptious self-confidence and self-satisfaction, etc. The noun is "bumptiousness," but I figure if we all get together and start saying "bumption" instead, it'll catch on. :) examples: Clearly a Xerox of a Xerox, the sheet of instructions for the audition somehow seems as bumptious as the teacher who wrote it; it warns talentless students not to waste his time by auditioning. "[The book is] a clear-eyed view of young Churchill as a bumptious self-promoter whose exploits in Africa were as farcical as they were courageous."    — "Notable Nonfiction Books in 2016," The Washington Post study it now: Look away from the screen to define "bumptious" without saying "pushy" or "full of yourself." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) claims that _____, but it's a bumptious claim that convinces no one." Example: "She claims that her professors fail to understand her genius, and that's why her grades are low, but it's a bumptious claim that convinces no one." 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. Our game this month is "A Doodad Named After a Thingamajig." If I give you two categories, X and Y, can you think of an X that was named after a Y? We'll start off easy--these first few questions will have lots of correct answers each that you might think up--and we'll work our way toward harder questions that, as far as I know, have only one correct answer each. From the previous issue: Can you think of a soda named after a card game? The only answer I know of is 7 Up. (If you know more, please share them!) Try this one today: Can you think of an athletic company named after a Greek goddess? review today's word: 1. The opposite of BUMPTIOUS is A. HUMBLE. B. CURSORY. C. UNRUFFLED. 2. Her parents tried to temper her _____ before it grew into bumptiousness. A. shyness B. social anxiety C. overconfidence 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