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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GOUGE

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pronounce GOUGE:

GOWJ

Hear it.
connect this word to others:

Here's Sylvia Plath's narrator in The Bell Jar: "I gouged at his leg with the sharp heel of my shoe."

And here's Mark Mathabane's narrator in Kaffir Boy: "His right eye had been completely gouged out by a stone from a slingshot."

So, ouch. Very unpleasant.

In fact, in terms of unpleasantness, I'd say gouging is right up there with goading, harrowing, and hamstringing. In your opinion, which of the four is the most violent?

definition:


(Source)


As you can see, a gouge is a kind of chisel that helps you cut holes (or curved grooves) by scooping material out.

Gouges can also be the holes or curved grooves themselves.

And to gouge something, or to gouge into something, literally speaking, is to cut holes into it, or to cut rounded grooves into it. And to gouge something out is to scrape or scoop it out forcefully.

Figuratively speaking, to gouge people is to cheat them, as if you're violently scooping away their money. And to gouge prices is to raise prices way too high.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Both a noun ("She carves gouges in the wood") and a verb ("She gouges holes in the wood;" "She gouges into the wood").

Other forms: 

Gouges, gouged, gouging; gouger(s).

how to use it:

Pick the harsh, violent, semi-common word "gouge" when you want to call attention to some literal or figurative scraping or hollowing.

For example, you could refer to a hole, a scratch, or a hollow as a "gouge" to emphasize its violent creation. Or you could express an animal's brute strength by saying that it gouged footprints into the mud, or it gouged holes into the fence, or it gouged dents into your car.

We also talk pretty often about companies gouging consumers (or price gouging them), again, with the connotation that the companies are taking a vicious, violent swipe at us by unfairly raising prices.

examples:

"In some instances, [the acrylic paint] drizzles down the canvas in rivulets; in others it amasses in thick crusts into which Bradley gouges with a stick or a rake."
   — Jonathan Griffin, New York Times, 3 November 2022

"A consumer watchdog agency has sued Texas pawnshop operator FirstCash, alleging the company and a subsidiary gouged military families by charging annual interest rates as high as 200 percent on pawn loans."
   — Paul O'Donnell, Dallas Morning News, 12 November 2021

has this page helped you understand "gouge"?

   

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 "gouge" without saying "scrape out" or "swindle someone out of their money."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "I suspect (some company or industry) of price-gouging, since (some product) really shouldn't cost (some insanely high amount)."

Example: "I suspect Ticketmaster of price-gouging, since a single ticket to a concert in Toronto really shouldn't cost $900."




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.

Our game for January: "Is That a Real Word?"

Folks have often emailed me to ask, "Is 'such-and-such' a real word?"

I don't have a great response, because... oh, boy. What does that mean, for a word to be real?

Is a word real if it appears in the dictionary? (Which dictionary? There are hundreds.) Is a word real if you can play it in Scrabble? If you can publish it in an academic journal? If you can say it at dinner without offending your grandma? If you can say it and other people know what you mean? If it’s pronounceable with a human mouth? Maybe a word is a word because you say it’s a word. Maybe you endowed it with wordness by vocalizing it, or writing it.

This month, let’s grapple with the question. What does it mean for a word to be real?

In each issue, I’ll give you three, um, written phenomena. You decide if each is a real word—and most importantly—why or why not. If someone were to dispute your judgment, how would you defend it? For fun, try comparing your responses with a companion’s. And if you like, you can compare yours with mine, which I’ll list at the bottom of the issue. 

Try these today: Out of "bridezilla," "hors d'oeuvres," and "uncola," which, if any, are real words?

review this word:

1. A near opposite of GOUGE is

A. SLICE or CARVE.
B. SAND or SMOOTH.
C. DIVVY or PORTION.

2. You may want a set of gouges if you plan to _____.

A. mix acrylic paint colors
B. carve your own chess pieces
C. serve several hot dishes at a gathering




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. B

Let's compare notes from the game: I say, out of "bridezilla," "hors d'oeuvres," and "uncola," all three are real words.

"Bridezilla" appears in both dictionaries and in conversations. Sure, it's slangy, and rude, and you might not want to use it in an academic paper, but that doesn't detract from its validity as a word.

"Hors d'oeuvres," despite being French, took root in English print sources and dictionaries around the year 1715, and, you know, everyone knows what it means.

"Uncola" may not appear in dictionaries, but many people know it from the 7-Up ad campaigns, so it's culturally meaningful. Even if it wasn't, I'd argue that it's still a word because its meaning is readily apparent.


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:
On vocabulary...
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      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
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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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