Make Your Point: GALLIVANTING

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pronounce GALLIVANTING:

GAL uh van ting

connect this word to others:

(Source)

We'll let Cinéma Moderne caption the photo: "Deciding to escape the tedium of their everyday lives, [Thelma and Louise] sneak off in Louise's '66 T-bird convertible for a three-day fishing trip with no husbands, no boyfriends and no problems."

Off they go, gallivanting. Which sort of explains the dude in the car on a supposedly girls-only trip: gallivanting might involve meeting new people while wandering around, partying, having merry adventures.

The word gallivanting might have arisen as a play on the word gallant, meaning "brave, heroic, spirited, or knightly." Like in that poem by Edgar Allan Poe about the knight who goes gallivanting, searching for a legendary city of gold:

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of E_d______.

Can you recall that word in the blanks? It means "any real or imagined place filled with incredible riches or opportunities," or more literally, "The Gilded."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

To go gallivanting somewhere is to go out and wander around, partying, flirting, having a good time, or doing exciting things that are silly, stupid, or reckless.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

"Gallivant" is a verb, the intransitive kind. We most often add -ing to it: "He's still off gallivanting." "My mind went gallivanting through the possibilities."

Other forms:

None are common.

how to use it:

Pick the word "gallivanting" when you want to strike a funny, old-fashioned tone as you imply that someone is roaming around, doing whatever they please, wasting time, wasting money, or seeking thrills for their own sake.

Talk about someone gallivanting somewhere, or gallivanting around, or gallivanting off to some place.

Gallivanting is usually concrete: "He's gallivanting around Australia;" "The kids are gallivanting around the mall." But it can be abstract: "After I downed three large Diet Cokes, my mind gallivanted from one crazy idea to the next."

examples:

"She has lived in a rent-stabilized apartment on Central Park West since 1985, and her walls are lined with old Polaroids of her gallivanting in Paris."
— Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 12 June 2020

"After escaping jail time, [the Scottish gambler and womanizer John Law] spent 10 years or so gallivanting about Europe and developing his economic theories."
— Frank Holmes, Forbes, 15 June 2015

has this page helped you understand "gallivanting"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "gallivanting" without saying "partying" or "meandering."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is off gallivanting (in some place), (doing something)."

Example 1: "My roommates and I were off gallivanting through Wal-Mart at three in the morning, wondering if we could test-drive the Big Wheels down the aisles."

Example 2: "Thanks for filling in for Farhad this week while he's off gallivanting in New York, wearing makeup and getting photographed doing God knows what."
— Mike Isaac, New York Times, 15 April 2017

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.

This month, our game is Botched Songs!

Check out the botched lyrics to a holiday song, and see if you can give me the botched title. It'll include a form of a word we've studied before.

For example, if the real song is "Jingle Bell Rock," then the botched one might be "Jingle Quell Rock." Or if the real song is "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas," then the botched one might be "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like a Chrysalis."

If you need some clues, highlight them to reveal them. And to see the answer, scroll all the way down. Your answer might be different than mine but just as good. Enjoy!

Try this last one today:

I wanna filch you a Merry Christmas.
I wanna steal you a Merry Christmas.
I wanna shear you a Merry Christmas,
From the bottom of my heart.
—from "_____ Navidad"

Clue 1: The word in the blank means… steal from someone, or rip them off.

Clue 2: The word in the blank starts with the letter… F.

Clue 3: The word in the blank sounds like… "Feliz," almost, but it's just one syllable.

review this word:

1. Someone who never goes GALLIVANTING likely

A. knows how to keep a secret.
B. enjoys the comforts of home.
C. eats and drinks in moderation.

2. With a playful nod at the words "gallant" and "gallivant," the TV show Galavant features a title character who _____.

A. roams from place to place, chasing after his stolen queen
B. broods endlessly in a jail cell, vowing revenge against King Richard
C. secretly wishes to join the drama club, but feels too stuck in his role as a football player

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:
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A 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.

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