Make Your Point > Archived Issues > LODESTAR

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explore the archives: Do clichés bother you? You'll love today's word lodestar--a guiding star, literally and figuratively--if you're as annoyed as I am by the worn-out expressions "guiding light" and "beacon of light." Are you also annoyed by the cliché "dizzying array"? Here's pan____ instead. Or by "stinging rebuke"? Here's keel____ instead.  make your point with... "LODESTAR" You know how a "mother lode" is a major vein of gold or silver, or a gigantic amount of anything? The "lode" in "mother lode" originally meant "a vein of metal ore." Miners would follow a lode through the rock, and so "lode" can also mean, more generally, "something to be followed, the way, the course." That brings us to "lodestar." A literal lodestar is a star you follow that guides your way. And figuratively, a lodestar is something that guides you through life, either because it's a goal or other thing that you really want, or because it reminds you of what's truly right or truly important in life. Pronunciation: LOAD star Part of speech: Countable noun. (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 lodestar or multiple lodestars.) Other forms: Just the plural, "lodestars." An alternate spelling is "loadstar." (Both "loadstar" and "lodestar" are correct.) How to use it: You can say that a thing is a lodestar ("the Constitution is our nation's lodestar") or that a person is a lodestar ("Sagan was a lodestar for skeptics"), or even that an abstract concept is a lodestar ("Acquisition--profit, that is--is the lodestar for the Ferengi"). "Lodestar" is often poetic, dramatic, or romantic, especially when you follow it with the word of: "He's the lodestar of my heart." "She's a lodestar of honor." "This child is a lodestar of delight." "This company wants to be the lodestar of responsible farming." But you can also simply talk about what your lodestar is ("My lodestars are these three simple principles...") or what the lodestar is for a certain person or group ("Securing for women the right to vote was the lodestar of their organization"). examples: Unconventional and brazen, he arose as a lodestar for voters who had felt ignored. In our fourth grade classroom hung a poster titled "How to Be An Artist," with a long list of free-spirited suggestions: learn to watch snails, play with everything, write love letters. For many years I followed that poster as a lodestar. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "lodestar" means when you can explain it without saying "guiding principle" or "goal shining high above." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Some particular quote or document or book, or some particular goal or principle, or some particular abstract thing like music or kindness) is the lodestar of my (career or existence)." Example: "Making 'hard' words easy for people who want to learn them is the lodestar of my career." 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. License Plate Words! You’ve spotted a cluster of three letters on a license plate. Keep all three letters together—don’t insert any letters between them—but add any letters you like to the left and/or right of the cluster to form words. For example, when you spot the cluster CKG, you can form BACKGROUND and BACKGAMMON (and all their related words, like BACKGROUNDER and BACKGAMMONING, for a total of 8 possible words). We’ll move from easy to hard clusters as the month goes on. (For the curious, you can generate a complete list of answers using a tool like this one.) Let's play! Our previous question: If you spot the cluster GOG, you can use it to form 49 words. Give yourself a minute or so. How many can you think of? Possible answers: You may have thought of AGOG, DEMAGOGUE, GOGGLES, PEDAGOGY, and/or SYNAGOGUE. Try this today: If you spot the cluster NJE, you can use it to form 40 words. Give yourself a minute or so. How many can you think of? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of LODESTAR is A. MODIFICATION B. DISTRACTION C. HESITATION 2. When her mentor was jailed for tax evasion, she found herself without a lodestar to _____. A. steer by B. gather with C. take the fall 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. A