Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FLOUT
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
explore the archives:
To make fun of something and treat it disdainfully, often while disobeying it, is to flout it.
Flout may have come from the Middle English form of the word "flute," which is fun because you can imagine how that connection came along:
"Hey buddy, you can't park your cart here."
"(Pulls out a flute.) Tweedlydeedee. Oh yes, I can! Bye!"
That's pure speculation on my part. But would you agree that there's something saucy and dismissive about the letters "fl-" at the beginning of a word? When we flout things, flaunt things, fling and flip things away, flip our hair and so on, we're often being fli_____, or inappropriately silly or rude.
make your point with...
"FLOUT"
To flout something is to mock it, or to ignore it in a disrespectful and inappropriate way.
Pronunciation:
FLOWT
(rhymes with "doubt")
Part of speech:
Most often, a transitive verb.
(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 flout something.)
Other forms:
flouted, flouting
How to use it:
Most often, we say that people flout rules, authority, and expectations. That is, we flout orders and commands; we flout laws, limits, requirements, procedures, protocols, agreements, and treaties; and we flout norms, standards, conventions, orthodoxy, morals, practice(s), tradition(s), precedent(s), and expectation(s).
Although dictionaries also say you can flout a person, as in "he flouted her" (or "he flouted at her"), that usage is rare today. (I'd be surprised if you find an example of it in a recent publication.)
Sometimes we accidentally say "flout" when we mean "flaunt," to show something off. If these confuse you, it might help to notice that, compared to "flout," "flaunt" looks more like"flash" and "flashy:" "She flashed a smile, flaunting (not flouting) perfect teeth and flashy lipstick."
examples:
Flouting the rule against gum-chewing in class, and knowing he could get away with it, he slowly exhaled an enormous pink bubble that burst with a satisfying pop.
Democrats are still miffed at those who flouted standard procedures, blocking the confirmation of their preferred supreme court justice.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "flout" means when you can explain it without saying "rudely disregard" or "scoff at something contemptuously."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "I don't intend to flout (someone's or something's) authority, but I do _____."
Example: "I don't intend to flout the TSA's authority, but I do find their rules arbitrary and annoying."
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 lines of poetry that include words we've checked out together in previous issues. I’ll give you a few lines from the poem, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it. Each answer will appear in the following issue. Enjoy!
From the previous issue:
From Walt Whitman's poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider:"
"Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the ________ thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul."
Definition: so thin, light, and delicate that it reminds you of the stuff spiderwebs are made of. (Hints: three syllables, starts with G.)
Answer: gossamer.
Try this today:
From Robert Bridges's poem "Low Barometer:"
"Some men would _____ the thing with prayer
Whose sightless footsteps pad the floor,
Whose fearful trespass mounts the stair
Or bursts the lock’d forbidden door."
Definition: put an end to something or get it under your control. (Hints: one syllable, starts with Q.)
review today's word:
1. A close opposite of FLOUT is
A. HIDE
B. HONOR
C. HORRIFY
2. His friends are annoyed with him for flouting the _____.
A. drinks
B. group project
C. theater's rule against texting
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. B
2. C
To make fun of something and treat it disdainfully, often while disobeying it, is to flout it.
"FLOUT" To flout something is to mock it, or to ignore it in a disrespectful and inappropriate way. Part of speech:
Flouting the rule against gum-chewing in class, and knowing he could get away with it, he slowly exhaled an enormous pink bubble that burst with a satisfying pop.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "flout" means when you can explain it without saying "rudely disregard" or "scoff at something contemptuously."
Fill in the blanks: "I don't intend to flout (someone's or something's) authority, but I do _____."
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.
1. A close opposite of FLOUT is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
|