Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FUSILLADE
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connect today's word to others:
If you're a history buff, then you know that a fusilier was a musketeer: a soldier armed with a fusil (a type of musket).
But "The Three Fusiliers" wouldn't be a catchy title, right? Likewise, we wouldn't wow anyone with the phrase "a musketing of f-words."
The Three Musketeers. Fusillades of f-words. Those phrases sound perfect.
Fusillades--as you've doubtlessly figured out by now, even if the word is new to you--are blasts, assaults, volleys, outpourings, quick outbursts, rapid attacks, especially the figurative kind, the kind with the bullets being angry words.
Fusillade has two very close synonyms that we've checked out before:
1. A _a__a_e is a fast, violent, broad firing of bullets; or more loosely, it's anything that gets spewed out in a fast, violent, overwhelming way.
2. A _a__o is the firing of a bunch of weapons all at once, often as part of a ceremony; or more loosely, it's any sudden verbal outburst.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"FUSILLADE"
(A fusil is a type of gun. "Fusil" comes from an Old French word meaning "flint" or "steel for starting a fire.")
A literal fusillade is a quick shooting of many bullets all at once.
And a figurative fusillade is any explosion or outpouring of things (usually words) that seems very angry or just very fast.
Pronunciation:
The older pronunciation is "FEW suh lade,"
but these days most people say "FEW suh lodd."
Part of speech:
Most often, a noun,
the countable kind.
(Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions."
Likewise, talk about one fusillade or multiple fusillades.)
Other forms:
The plural is "fusillades," which ramps up the drama a bit. Compare: "They fired off a fusillade of insults" and "They fired off fusillades of insults."
And it's rare, but "fusillade" is also a verb: you can fusillade people and things, and talk about fusilladings and fusilladers.
How to use it:
You can use this word literally: a fusillade of bullets, a fusillade of shots from the police, a fusillade of machine gun fire.
Or, be figurative: a fusillade of rules, taxes, tariffs, comments, posts, insults, demands, headlines, statistics, literary or historical references, etc.
You can talk about people firing, firing off, launching, unleashing, or letting loose a fusillade, sometimes at or against the target person or thing. People can plan a fusillade, keep up a fusillade, turn a fusillade on someone, block a fusillade, barricade themselves against a fusillade, etc.
And people can say something in, with, or through a fusillade of things: "She responded with a fusillade of profanity."
If you want to get extra-figurative, people can BE fusillades: "He was a fusillade of energy and cunning" (The Los Angeles Times).
Of course, this word usually has a harsh, violent tone, but you can use it simply to suggest speed and relentlessness: "Each page unleashes a fusillade of gags and comic sequences" (The New York Times).
examples:
It's not that he just dislikes Lady Gaga's style or finds her music unsuitable to his tastes; rather, it's as if he feels personally assaulted by her vibrancy, by her passionate combination of art, life, and theatricality, as if she were launching a fusillade of glitter, hair dye, and high-heeled boots directly at him.
"They assumed, no doubt, that a Muslim woman, presumably submissive and shy with her English, would allow her hijab to be ripped from her head without retaliation. But Kathy let loose a fusillade of pungent suggestions, leaving them dumbfounded and momentarily speechless."
— Dave Eggers, Zeitoun, 2010
study it now:
Look away from the screen to define "fusillade" without saying "volley" or "shelling."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) fired another fusillade at (something, or someone else)."
Example: "Spoofing Eminem, Brent Pella fires a rhythmic fusillade at perplexed bystanders, including 'this dude named Stu at the Jiffy Lube' and a small brown dog."
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 an accessory or article of clothing named after a person?
Possible answers include the Bowler hat and the cardigan sweater.
Try this one today: Can you think of a mathematical concept named after a place?
review today's word:
1. A near opposite of FUSILLADE is
A. DRIBBLE.
B. BOMBAST.
C. RECLAMATION.
2. _____, a technique for editing film, presents viewers with a fusillade of images, often to convey _____.
A. Fast cutting .. chaotic energy
B. The point of view shot .. realism
C. The establishing shot .. a sense of time and place
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. A
2. A
If you're a history buff, then you know that a fusilier was a musketeer: a soldier armed with a fusil (a type of musket).
"FUSILLADE" (A fusil is a type of gun. "Fusil" comes from an Old French word meaning "flint" or "steel for starting a fire.")
It's not that he just dislikes Lady Gaga's style or finds her music unsuitable to his tastes; rather, it's as if he feels personally assaulted by her vibrancy, by her passionate combination of art, life, and theatricality, as if she were launching a fusillade of glitter, hair dye, and high-heeled boots directly at him.
Look away from the screen to define "fusillade" without saying "volley" or "shelling."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) fired another fusillade at (something, or someone else)."
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 near opposite of FUSILLADE is
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. |