Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FANDANGO
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If you haven't grown up buying your movie tickets from Fandango.com, you might have first heard the hilarious word fandango from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody:"
Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the fandango?
In case you were curious but not curious enough to have already looked it up, a Scaramouch (Italian for "little skirmisher") is any bragging, swaggering clown, originally a stock character on the Italian stage, where he frolicked around and embarrassed the Don, the arrogant ruler. (Yes, these pompous fellows really are from 17th century Italian drama and not 2017 American headlines: the Scaramouch and the Don.)
So, if you call someone a Scaramouch, you're accusing them of arrogance and clownish antics. And what if you call someone a Pangloss or a Micawber: what traits are you accusing them of? For a bonus point, do you recall which of those two characters comes from Voltaire and which comes from Dickens?
Now, back to that important question: will you do the fandango?
make your point with...
"FANDANGO"
We don't know exactly where this word came from. Here's what it means.
Strictly speaking, the fandango is a dance: a loud, lively, showy, boisterous, passionate Spanish courtship dance often done with a partner, with claps, snaps, stomps, and sudden pauses where you freeze, then continue as the music resumes. It's a folksy kind of dance now: a trope, even, and a quick way to embarrass your kids, but it was very popular back in the 18th century, when I assume people danced the fandango unironically. (A fandango can also be the music played for this dance, or the dancing event itself.)
And more loosely speaking, a fandango is anything so loud, lively, showy, boisterous, and/or passionate that it reminds you of people dancing the fandango, sometimes in a foolish, arrogant way or at an inappropriate time or place.
Pronunciation:
fan DANG go
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "these fandangos," "they're still dancing that fandango."
Other forms:
The plural noun can be spelled "fandangos" or "fandangoes," with dictionaries favoring "fandangos."
And it's rare, but you can use "fandango" as a verb: "they fandangoed off."
How to use it:
Apply this funny, flashy word to a meal, a show, a movie, a performance, a theme park, a media frenzy, an Internet craze, a social or political uproar or movement, and so on. If it has parts, pieces, or people who seem to dance in flat-out flamboyance, especially in pairs, call it a fandango.
You might use "fandango" in an earnest way that compliments the subject ("Robin Williams's incomparable fandango of sounds, songs, and voices"), or in an ironic way that emphasizes how outrageous, inappropriate, and embarrassing the subject is ("they can't hold a simple event without fireworks and fandangos").
"Fandango" is especially playful when you swap it in for some expected f-word: "a funny thing happened on the way to this fandango (Forbes)," "We skipped the light fandango (Procol Harum)."
examples:
"While steaming then roasting potatoes may seem rather a fandango, one bite of these will convince you that it's utterly worth it; besides, it's not as if you have to do anything while they either steam or roast."
— Nigella Lawson, At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking, 2018
"CBS discontinued the hit comedy show 'Two and a Half Men' after [Charlie] Sheen's public jousting with senior management over a binge that the wild-man actor has described as 'epic' and 'radical.' Since then, he has become one of the biggest names on the planet. What is fascinating about this whole fandango isn't Sheen's public dramas. It is the way he has given us a master-class in modern media promotion..."
— Matthew Lynn, Newsday, 9 March 2011
has this page helped you understand "fandango"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "fandango" without saying "spectacle" or "next-level hot mess."
try it out:
Fill in the blank: "The media have had plenty a field day. Let them have a fandango with (some topic)."
Example: "The media have had plenty a field day. Let them have a fandango with Florida Man and his many bizarre crimes."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
John Davidson (1857-1909) said,
"That minister of ministers,
_____, gathers up
The undiscovered Universe,
Like jewels in a jasper cup."
Answer: Imagination.
Try this one today:
Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914) (the poet, not the actor) said,
"_____'s but one more to-morrow."
review this word:
1. A near opposite of FANDANGO is
A. TAILSPIN.
B. CAKEWALK.
C. SOLEMNITY.
2. In Grim Fandango, players enact the _____ journey of _____.
A. epic .. a lone hero, Dante
B. dizzying .. Manny and Meche
C. "harrowing" .. farm development
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.
If you haven't grown up buying your movie tickets from Fandango.com, you might have first heard the hilarious word fandango from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody:"
"FANDANGO" We don't know exactly where this word came from. Here's what it means.
"While steaming then roasting potatoes may seem rather a fandango, one bite of these will convince you that it's utterly worth it; besides, it's not as if you have to do anything while they either steam or roast."
Explain the meaning of "fandango" without saying "spectacle" or "next-level hot mess."
Fill in the blank: "The media have had plenty a field day. Let them have a fandango with (some topic)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of FANDANGO is
|