Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DESULTORY

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explore the archives: Speeches, papers, plans, and thoughts that skip around randomly from one thing to another are desultory, a word based on a Latin one, desultorius, literally meaning "one who jumps down" and designating a circus performer who leaps from one horse to another, mid-gallop. Whoa. The word hackneyed carries a whiff of horses, also. Hackneyed things are overdone, worn-out, boring, unoriginal. But can you recall the original meaning of a hackney? And explain how that relates to the meaning of hackneyed? (The explanation is here if you'd like to check, under "Meaning".) make your point with... "DESULTORY" Desultory things are not organized and not methodical. In other words, something desultory skips around in a disorganized, random way. Pronunciation: DESS ull tore ee 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 desultory thing." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was desultory.") Other forms: desultorily, desultoriness How to use it: When you call something desultory, you're hinting that it leaps around suddenly, like a rider leaping from the back of one horse onto another. This word is often critical ("a desultory article that'll waste your time"), but it can also be neutral ("the fly zooms desultorily among the picnic foods") and even pleasant ("we sipped ice tea and enjoyed a desultory conversation on the porch"). So, talk about desultory motion; desultory competition or warfare; desultory reporting or investigating; desultory thoughts or conversations; desultory efforts, steps, plans, projects, or processes; desultory reading, research, or study, etc. You can do something in a desultory way, in a desultory manner, or with a desultory pace, or you can simply do something desultorily. It's rare to say that a person is desultory, because what you really mean is that the person does things in a desultory way: a desultory student is someone who studies in a disorganized, unsystematic way; a desultory gardener is someone who gardens with very little planning or regularity. examples: My study of the Korean language was desultory; I'd podcast-hop, and switch between textbooks when one got too tedious. I should have taken a class! In After the Deluge, Leonard Sidney Woolf compares human history to an ant-heap, suggesting that wars, laws, and civilizations--when viewed from a certain perspective--seem little more than the busy but desultory movements of insects. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "desultory" means when you can explain it without saying "lacking a structured plan" or "lacking an orderly method." try it out: Think of a story that annoyed you because it went nowhere. It might be an anecdote that someone told you, or an article, a TV episode or season, a book, or a movie. Fill in the blanks: "In _____, the desultory (plot, narrative, story, or description) leapt from _____ to _____." Example: "In her recounting of the incident, the desultory description leapt from what they had been listening to on the radio when they got pulled over to why they were toting a trailer in the first place." 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. This month, we're playing with KWIKORD, an addictive, challenging new word game for solo or group play, created by Wayne Ellice.  We're dipping our toes into the game this month, trying some simple challenges first and working our way toward harder tasks. (Check out my interview with the game's creator here, and order your own copy of the full version of KWIKORD here.) You'll see a sample answer to each puzzle the following day. Enjoy! Yesterday, you took the letters DLMYAEU and arranged them into words to fill the perimeter of a 4x4 grid. Many solutions were possible. Here are two: Try that today with the letters DGSAOU. Notice that it's a little harder this time because you get only 3 consonants instead of 4. Draw three vertical and three horizontal lines on some scrap paper, and go for it! review today's word: 1. The opposite of DESULTORY is A. ACCURATE B. SUBSTANTIAL C. STRUCTURED 2. Pulling up a few desultory _____, she _____. A. memories .. realized why Pez candies made her laugh B. photographs .. admired her grandmother's smile C. formulas .. calculated the distance between the two points Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A