Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CLOY
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CLOY:
Say it "KLOY."
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connect this word to others:
Sights, sounds, and foods that cloy the senses, or that are cloying, are just too much: they fill us up too much, stuffing into our minds or mouths or stomachs way more than we wanted or way more than we can deal with.
Often, cloying things are too sweet. So sweet they make you go "blyuhhh, stop it, no more of that."
For example, you might refer to the rosy-cheeked, curly-headed, pink-ruffled Shirley Temple as cloying.
Or, you might call her s_cch_r_n_ ("way too sweet, like a synthetic sugar").
Or, __eacly ("way too sweet, like a certain sugary substance").
Or, __ee ("sweet, teeny-tiny, or overly adorable").
Can you recall all those synonyms?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
To cloy people or things is to fill them with way too much of a good thing. In other words, if you're cloyed with something, you're so over-stuffed with it that you don't even enjoy it or like it anymore.
Something cloying, then, is way too much (of a good thing), or, way too sweet.
"Cloy" took the scenic route from Latin into modern English. For details, read on.
"Cloy" ultimately comes from the Latin word for "nail," clavus. This clavus formed inclavare, meaning "to drive in a nail (when attaching a horse shoe to a horse's foot)." Inclavare entered Old French as encloer, meaning "to nail, to grip," but also "to stop, to hinder." And encloer entered Middle English as accloyen, and then just cloyen, still meaning "to hinder, to encumber."
So, in really old English texts, you'll still see "cloy" meaning "to clog, to stop up, to hinder." That's almost the same meaning we use today, which is more figurative: today, to cloy is to overfill, to over-satisfy. Or, to be overly sweet.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
"Cloy" is a verb, usually the transitive kind: "They cloyed us with cake and ice cream." Sometimes it's the intransitive kind: "This ice cream satisfies but never cloys."
"Cloying" is an adjective: "a cloying song," "the lyrics were cloying."
Other forms worth knowing: cloyed, cloyer(s), cloyingly.
how to use it:
The tone of the word "cloy" is negative: things that cloy, or cloying things, are irritating.
There's a fine line between "cloying" and positive words like "satisfying" and "charming." And where we draw that line is a matter of opinion. For example, did you find it cloying, or just charming, when Maria sang to the hilltops about her heart being blessed with the sound of music?
"Cloy," the verb, isn't seen too often, so it's great for emphasis: "The film cloys us with one tearful scene after another." "The film is fresh and original. It emotes but doesn't cloy." (Notice how you can say that something cloys people, often with something--or just say that something cloys or doesn't cloy.)
But "cloying," the adjective, is a semi-common word, perfect when you need to express how disgustingly sweet something is while you maintain a sophisticated tone. Talk about all sorts of cloying things, from foods and smells to music, works of literature, and Hallmark cards and movies: "her cloying mannerisms," "his cloying sentimentality," "the children's cloying performance as they sang good night to the partygoers."
"The sun has gone to bed, and so must I." Is it cloying, or just plain sweet?
examples:
"Thai coconut peanut [M&M]: Challenging! The coconut flavor verges on the edge of overpowering but stops just short of being cloying."
— Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 24 September 2019
"I knew every man must compliment her, bury her in flattery more cloying than roses."
— Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind, 2007
has this page helped you understand "cloy"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "cloy" without saying "glut" or "gorge."
try it out:
First, be literal: Talk about a food, a drink, or a smell that you find cloying. For example, I find the smell of rose gardens cloying.
Then, be figurative: Talk about a movie, a television show, a book, a poem, or a song that you find cloying. My example: I find "The Star-Spangled Banner" cloying.
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.
Last month, our game was "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."
From the previous issue:
"Devitalized by duration and destiny, but resolute in volition
To attempt, to pursue, to discover, and not to capitulate."
Answer:
"Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Next up, our game for April: "Recollections."
In each issue this month, I'll share a quote from some work--it might be a song, a poem, or a book--and you'll come up with that work's title. If you don't know it, you can assemble the title, highlighted in the vertical blue line below, by recalling words to fit into the puzzle.
Scrap paper might help! Especially as the puzzles get longer toward the end of April.
If you're curious about where the quotes and the titles came from, I selected them from a poll of the patrons' personal favorites.
Try this one today:
"angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night"
In what work does the quote above appear?
1) verb: "to laugh so loudly you lose control of yourself"
2) adjective: "difficult; requiring lots of long, hard work"
3) verb: "to bypass something or set it aside (like a fee or a requirement)"
4) verb: "to get involved in something just a little bit, but not professionally"
review this word:
A. MIMIC.
B. SUGGEST.
C. TANTALIZE.
2. Some of Wordsworth's poems border on cloying, with lines like "_____."
A. scooped into ten thousand cells
B. faculty for storm and turbulence
C. golden daffodils dancing in the breeze
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.
Sights, sounds, and foods that cloy the senses, or that are cloying, are just too much: they fill us up too much, stuffing into our minds or mouths or stomachs way more than we wanted or way more than we can deal with.
To cloy people or things is to fill them with way too much of a good thing. In other words, if you're cloyed with something, you're so over-stuffed with it that you don't even enjoy it or like it anymore.
Part of speech:
The tone of the word "cloy" is negative: things that cloy, or cloying things, are irritating.
"Thai coconut peanut [M&M]: Challenging! The coconut flavor verges on the edge of overpowering but stops just short of being cloying."
Explain the meaning of "cloy" without saying "glut" or "gorge."
First, be literal: Talk about a food, a drink, or a smell that you find cloying. For example, I find the smell of rose gardens cloying.
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.
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