Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EULOGIZE

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connect today's word to others: A while back, I shared the example below, illustrating a word that means "simple and peaceful, reminiscent of life out in the country." See if you can recall that word: You know that _____ic Pepperidge Farm commercial, the one with the farmer, driving his wagon, talking about the good old days? It was spoofed by Family Guy and lives on in the form of an Internet meme, "Pepperidge Farm Remembers." Oh, man. That meme is so hilarious. Each one brings up some long-gone relic, asking wistfully, and often sarcastically, "Remember when...?," eulogizing the past. One eulogizes MTV's airing of actual music videos. Another eulogizes how Blockbuster would let you print your Pokémon Snap pictures. Now, I have no idea what those are or why you'd want them, but people are eulogizing the practice, so it must have been neato. A eulogy is literally a "speaking well" of someone or something: it's a speech that praises and commemorates its subject, often a person who's just died. But we can, and do, eulogize all kinds of things besides the recently deceased. Keeping in mind that the log in eulogy and eulogize means "word or speech," see if you can recall these related words: 1. A ____log is any official set of written rules--often exactly ten of them.  2. A ___log___ is a new word, a new phrase, or an old word with a new meaning. 3. And, _____loquence is an overly fancy way of talking or writing. Finally, see if you can recall this close synonym of eulogistic: it's pan____ical, praising somebody or something very highly. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "EULOGIZE" A eulogy is a speech that formally praises someone or something. Often it's given at a funeral to praise the person who just died. So, to eulogize people is to speak or write words of praise for them, usually right after they've died. And to eulogize things is to speak or write words of praise for them when they're not around anymore because they're no longer popular, available, or acceptable. Pronunciation: YOU luh jize Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind. (Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object. You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone. Likewise, you eulogize something or someone.) Other forms worth knowing: eulogized, eulogizing, eulogizer(s) or eulogist(s); eulogy and eulogies--or eulogisms; eulogistic, eulogistically How to use it: When we use the word "eulogize" in its more common sense, talking about praising people at their funerals, it's formal and serious. But here we're focused on more abstract usage, which is often funny, sarcastic, and exaggerated. That is, talk about people (such as authors, pundits, politicians, tweeters, bloggers, journalists, advice columnists, and writers of editorials) who eulogize things (such as fads, trends, beliefs, traditions, technologies, time periods, words and labels, and shenanigans you could get away with). (And you can say that some publication or other creation is doing the eulogizing.) You can eulogize something as superior, eulogize something as a pillar of polite society, eulogize something as a major influence on our national character, etc. examples: Sarah Miller recalls her work as a movie reviewer, hating most of the films, delighting in tearing them down, before realizing she'd be fired if she didn't thoroughly eulogize The English Patient, a film she found deeply dull, "racist," and "pseudo-intellectual." "Henry eulogizes the lost age: 'Before the markets and the chaos / the fire and the flood. / When there was nothing / but three brothers / standing together in the morning sun / dreaming of America.'"    — Charles McNulty, The Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2018 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "eulogize" without saying "glorify" or "sing the praises of." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) lives in the past, often eulogizing the days when _____." Example: "He lives in the past, often eulogizing the days when he could buy a comic book for a dime." 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 chemical element named after a planet (or a deity associated with a planet)? Possible answers include Mercury, Tellurium (named after Earth), Cerium (named after the dwarf planet Ceres), Uranium, Neptunium, and Plutonium. Try this one today: Can you think of an accessory or article of clothing named after a person? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of EULOGIZE is A. MYSTIFY. B. DENOUNCE. C. ACCOMMODATE. 2. The tone is more than _____, even more than _____; it's eulogistic. A. harsh .. vindictive B. playful .. ludicrous C. pensive .. nostalgic 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. B 2. C