Make Your Point > Archived Issues > KNOLLING
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
KNOLLING:
Say it "NOLE ing."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
In one of its senses, the word knolling is simply a very close synonym of kn___ing, meaning "ringing a bell."
But in its other sense, knolling was coined in the same wonderful way as words like pasteurizing (from the name of Louis Pasteur), boycotting (from Captain Charles Boycott), fl______izing (from the name of a health enthusiast, meaning "chewing your food for so long that it turns into liquid; or, thinking about something to the point of exhaustion") and lizzing (from Liz Lemon on the show 30 Rock, meaning "laughing so hard that you pee a little").
These terms are all eponyms: words coined from people's names.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"KNOLLING"
Search for images of "knolling," and you'll understand right away what it is.
Knolling is the neat and tidy arrangement of many items all on one surface, often at 90 degree angles to each other.
It's a popular style, or movement, in art, design, marketing, and daily life. And I'm so very pleased that we have a word for it.
Although this word has been around since 1987, it still hasn't made it into dictionaries, as far as I can tell. (Catch up, lexicographers! You guys love orderly arrangements of things!)
"Knolling" was coined by Andrew Kromelow, who worked in a furniture shop. He arranged his tools in the kind of very neat order that you see above. He called this "knolling" because it reminded him of Knoll furniture, designed by Florence Knoll, a major influence on modern office style. Her designs are neat, trim, angular, organized, and efficient:
Part of speech:
Noun, the uncountable kind: "he has a gift for knolling," "don't you just love knolling?"
Other forms:
You can "knoll," and if you did, you just "knolled."
(The verb "knoll" is both transitive, as in "Please let me knoll this drawer" or "Please let me knoll this jumble of kitchen implements;" and intransitive, as in "Please let me get in that drawer and knoll until the chaos is gone.")
If you love knolling and do it often, you're a "knoller."
And your creations (that is, your flat arrangements of items) are your "knolls."
How to use it:
This newish, trendy word has a positive tone.
Talk about knolling as a hobby, an activity, an art form, or simply a way of keeping things arranged in your home or work space. "Tom Sachs's motto is 'always be knolling." "Each of her drawers is a glorious example of knolling." "His love of knolling suggests an orderly mind." "The state of your junk drawer is hurting my soul--let me just get in there and do some knolling."
And feel free to roll up your metaphorical sleeves to talk about knolling abstract things, like facts, thoughts, memories, impressions, features, qualities, abilities, etc.
examples:
As someone who assembles furniture by laying out a drop cloth, studying the instructions, knolling the hardware and components, then following each step in order, I panicked when she dumped out the pieces, trashed the instructions, and went at it.
"When I first met Tom I'd been knolling for years but had no idea that what I was doing actually had a name. I knoll my workbenches, I knoll my desk at home. When I was fourteen years old, I bought ten pounds of locks and keys from a flea market, then dumped them out on the floor of my room and proceeded to stack them by lock type and category. I knolled them."
— Adam Savage, Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It, 2019
has this page helped you understand "knolling"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "knolling" without saying "making flat lays" or "creating tidy arrays so that you can see everything at once."
try it out:
Talk about why knolling does or doesn't appeal to you. Some questions to consider as you talk:
1. When you were a kid, did you knoll your Legos? Your Halloween candy? Anything?
2. If someone offered right now to knoll your junk drawer, your school supplies, your makeup drawer, your kitchen implements, your tool cabinet, or any other area of your home or workspace, would you let them do it? If so, when can I come over? How long would that spot stay knolled--would you keep it that way, or would your lifestyle wreak havoc on it?
3. Do any of these knolls inspire you?
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.
Rhyming Puzzles!
I give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase. For example, if I say, "This is an ideal environment for a large tree-dwelling lizard--one in which this creature is perfectly happy and peaceful," then you say, "That's iguana nirvana."
The answers will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. If you'd like to see the clue, click or mouse-over the link. I'll share each answer the following day. Enjoy!
From the previous issue: At the movies, as you head to the concession stand for a snack, you realize that the smell you expected--warm and buttery--is missing. Gross: the snacks aren't being made fresh; they're sitting in small yellow bags, dusty ones, that look as if they've been there for a long time. No one's been buying them, and you won't, either, because it's all ________ _______. (Two words, two syllables each. Clue: use this word.)
Answer: shopworn popcorn.
Try this one today: It's your friend's birthday, and you're heading to her house for a party, stopping first at the grocery store for a gift. You vaguely recall that she likes port wine, but you're not sure what kind. You grab the first bottle of port you see, slap a pink bow on it, and go. It's the thought that counts, but there wasn't much thought involved in this ____ ____ _____ ______. (Four words, one syllable each. Clue: use this phrase.)
review this word:
1. A near opposite of a KNOLL is
A. a MISE EN PLACE (a state of everything being in its place).
B. a BOUILLABAISSE (a random, jumbled mishmash of things).
C. the PIECE DE RESISTANCE (the best, most impressive part of something).
2. You'll be disappointed if you're expecting _____ as you head to the Knoll Museum in East Greenville, Pennsylvania: it houses pieces of Knoll furniture, not the trend they inspired.
A. abstract paintings
B. trim arrangements
C. old-fashioned ball gowns
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:
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.
In one of its senses, the word knolling is simply a very close synonym of kn___ing, meaning "ringing a bell."
Part of speech:
As someone who assembles furniture by laying out a drop cloth, studying the instructions, knolling the hardware and components, then following each step in order, I panicked when she dumped out the pieces, trashed the instructions, and went at it.
Explain the meaning of "knolling" without saying "making flat lays" or "creating tidy arrays so that you can see everything at once."
Talk about why knolling does or doesn't appeal to you. Some questions to consider as you talk:
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 a KNOLL is
|