Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CAGEY

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pronounce CAGEY: Say it "KAY jee." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Here's Saturday Night Live, poking fun at the Bush family for being cagey: Bush Senior: "You gotta be evasive. When they ask you a question, you gotta be slip-slidin' away... You're gonna work as hard as you can to be a shining monument to vagueness. To have no definitive opinion about anything, ever. Think you can do that for me?" Bush Junior: "Maybe." So in casual terms, Bush Senior's advice is to keep secrets and dodge questions: to stay sly, cagey, tight-lipped, and buttoned-up. And in more formal terms, his advice is to stay reserved, restrained, re___ent, ta___urn, and nonc____tal. Can you recall those three synonyms? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  definition: We're not sure exactly how the word "cagey" came to be, but it popped up in American slang around the early 1900s, and it sounds like it involves cages, or perhaps the sly avoidance of being trapped in one. To be cagey is to be unwilling to say much, as if careful to guard your own secrets. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "She's so cagey;" "What a cagey response." Other forms:  Cagily, caginess (or, if you prefer, cageyness). how to use it: "Cagey" is a fun, slangy, semi-common word that helps you call attention to someone's sly behavior. What are they hiding? And why? They're so cagey! You might talk about someone's cagey response, explanation, choice of words, refusal to answer the question, etc. "With a cagey glance in our direction, she stuffed the letter back into her backpack." "He's not just this movie's lead actor but also a serious fan. Ask him for plot spoilers, and he's cagey." You can also say that someone is cagey on or about some topic. "He's cagey about spoilers." examples: Some guy smeared cake on the Mona Lisa. Maybe he was upset by her cageyness. "Shannon has always been cagey about how the fillets are prepared. He's never revealed the ingredients in his coating, other than to describe it as a generic 'fish-fry meal.'"    — Tim Carman, Washington Post, 27 February 2020 has this page helped you understand "cagey"? 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 "cagey" without saying "evasive" or "leery." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is notoriously cagey about (something), never (revealing some particular detail or answer)." Example: "Dolly Parton is notoriously cagey about her political views, never aligning with one political party or candidate but instead pledging support and prayer to those who find themselves in elected positions."    — Dan Freeman, Rolling Stone,  5 July 2016 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 this month: It Sounds Wiser in Latin.  Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related words. Enjoy! Try these today: 1. alia tentanda via est 2. jucunda rerum vicissitudo 3. lubrici sunt fortunæ gressus 4. mens sine pondere ludit 5. pedibus timor addidit alas A. a delightful change of circumstances B. fear gave wings to his feet C. the footsteps of fortune are slippery D. the mind is playful when unburdened E. we must try another way To peek at the clues, follow the links:    1. Vicissitudes are...    2. A timorous person is...    3. To retrogress is to... review this word: 1. Near-opposites of CAGEY include A. SOOTHING and PALLIATING (easing, making less intense). B. CANDID (open and honest) and EFFUSIVE (overflowing with words). C. PERT (bold, rude, and saucy) and RIBALD (funny in a rude, vulgar way). 2. In an animated Disney show, the aptly-named guinea pig Cagey appears to _____. A. seethe with resentment as each of his escape attempts fail B. harbor a gleeful secret as he grins mysteriously and rub his paws together C. suffer from a neurological defect as his eyes wander off in two different directions Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answers to the game questions: 1. alia tentanda via est = we must try another way 2. jucunda rerum vicissitudo = a delightful change of circumstances 3. lubrici sunt fortunæ gressus = the footsteps of fortune are slippery 4. mens sine pondere ludit = the mind is playful when unburdened 5. pedibus timor addidit alas = fear gave wings to his feet 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: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A 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.