Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DOVETAIL
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pronounce
DOVETAIL:
Say it "DUV tale."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
I find it kind of hilarious that the words dove and dovetail have a lovely tone, while the words pigeon and pigeon____ ("to shove into a narrow category") have an ugly tone.
Because aren't doves and pigeons the same thing?
Well, I Googled it for us. And the answer isn't a simple "yes" or "no." They both belong to the bird family Columbidae, and according to Wikipedia, we tend to call the daintier species "doves" and the heftier ones "pigeons."
Good to know!
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
A dovetail is something shaped like the tail of a dove. Here's a dovetail joint, with thanks to Guy B for the image:
You can see how the pieces interlock perfectly, each resembling the tail of a dove.
Literally speaking, when things dovetail, they fit together tightly and precisely because their edges have been cut to interlock, like in the picture above.
And figuratively speaking, when things dovetail, they fit together tightly and precisely, forming a whole, as if they were created to interlock.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Most often a verb, the intransitive kind: "This dovetails with that."
Other forms:
Like you'd expect, the other verb forms are "dovetailed" and "dovetailing."
"Dovetail" is also a noun, the countable kind, and usually the literal kind: "She used dovetails when building the box."
We also use "dovetail" loosely like an adjective, but pretty much only literally: "a dovetail joint," "a dovetail hinge."
how to use it:
The word "dovetail" is semi-common, with a positive tone. It creates a beautiful mental image of pieces sliding perfectly, precisely into place, completing each other.
Talk about two things dovetailing, or about one thing dovetailing with another. "These two goals dovetail." "That idea dovetails with this one." "Their work dovetails with ours." Or, you might occasionally talk about one thing dovetailing into another. "Her campaign dovetailed into ours."
Although we most often talk about positive things that dovetail--like goals, ideas, campaigns, research, and discoveries--we can also talk about negative things that dovetail: issues, problems, challenges, disasters, etc.
examples:
"The beauty of this idea is that my decision to keep Peeta alive at the expense of my own life is itself an act of defiance. A refusal to play the Hunger Games by the Capitol's rules. My private agenda dovetails completely with my public one."
— Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, 2009
"[Yves Vigouroux and colleagues] concluded that all domesticated pearl millet varieties came from a single ancestor growing north of the Niger River in part of the western Sahara Desert that today includes northern Mali and Mauritania. The genetic work... dovetails nicely with a 2011 discovery of 4500-year-old pearl millet remains in an archaeological site in southeastern Mali."
— Elizabeth Pennisi, Science, 1 May 2019
has this page helped you understand "dovetail"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "dovetail" without saying "unite" or "harmonize."
try it out:
The artist Mark Julian Borg, who drew the dovetailing avocado halves above, sells the design as a sticker on RedBubble. I love how the RedBubble platform dovetails with artists like that. The artists display their work there, and when customers buy it, RedBubble prints and ships it.
With the avocados above as a literal example, talk about a pair of objects that dovetail with each other.
Or, with the artist and the sales platform as a figurative example, talk about two people or things that dovetail with each other.
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 February is "Piece It Together."
Use your knowledge of the given terms to define a related, ultra-rare term.
For example, you could use your knowledge of CELLULAR and MULTUM IN PARVO ("a lot in a little") to define the ultra-rare PARVOCELLULAR as "small-celled."
To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
Use SATIATE and DICTATORIAL to define SATISDICTION.
review this word:
A. GRATE and OFFEND.
B. SOAR and INCREASE.
C. CLASH and CONFLICT.
2. It's redundant (but certainly not a Word Crime of Weird Al proportions) to say that things "dovetail _____," because the word "dovetail" by definition denotes _____.
A. heavily .. weight
B. beautifully .. beauty
C. precisely .. precision
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.
Part of speech:
The word "dovetail" is semi-common, with a positive tone. It creates a beautiful mental image of pieces sliding perfectly, precisely into place, completing each other.
"The beauty of this idea is that my decision to keep Peeta alive at the expense of my own life is itself an act of defiance. A refusal to play the Hunger Games by the Capitol's rules. My private agenda dovetails completely with my public one."
Explain the meaning of "dovetail" without saying "unite" or "harmonize."
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.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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