Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MENAGERIE

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connect today's word to others: Menagerie comes straight from a French word that means "housing (for animals)," so it's closely related to the words mansion, menial (literally "related to a household"), and, oh my, even ménage à trois (literally "a household of three"). Because we call something a menagerie when it reminds us of a collection of exotic animals, this word joins quite a few others on our list of colorful terms for collections and mixtures:    Agglomeration    Cacophony    Farrago    Mélange    Melee    Panoply    Salmagundi The list is alphabetical at the moment, but could you organize it from least to most chaotic? I'll get you started: let's put panoply first (as the least chaotic type of mixture) and cacophony last (as the most chaotic). make your point with... "MENAGERIE" A literal menagerie is a zoo or other place where many wild animals are kept on display. A figurative menagerie is a mixture of things or people that's so varied or so unusual that it reminds you of a collection of wild animals. Pronunciation: muh NAJ uh ree 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 menagerie or multiple menageries.) Other forms: The plural: "menageries." And it's rare, but a "menagerist" is the owner or manager of a menagerie. How to use it: You can be somewhat literal and talk about a menagerie of bacteria, a taxidermist's menagerie of mounts (ew), the menagerie of soft toy animals in your kid's room, or the growing menagerie at your friend's house that started with cats and dogs but now includes ferrets and sugar gliders. Now let's get figurative. When a collection of things or people seems wild, varied, bizarre, colorful, and spectacular, call it a menagerie. You might talk about a menagerie of sights or sounds, a menagerie of people or characters, a menagerie of objects, etc. examples: As kids, we dreamed of entering the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to play among Wonka's menagerie of otherworldly treats (like a soda that makes you float) and impossible inventions (like a camera that teleports you). On the hilarious "Health Care" episode of The Office, when Dwight asks the staff to submit a list of their illnesses, they invent a menagerie of them: hot dog fingers, killer nano robot infection, spontaneous dental hydroplosion. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "menagerie" means when you can explain it without saying "like a collection of exotic animals" or "razzle-dazzle assortment." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Something bizarre) looks like it escaped from a menagerie of (some type of thing)." Example: "This avocado slicer looks like it escaped from a menagerie of kitchen implements." 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 Vocabulary of Movie Quotes." Jean Picker Firstenberg at the American Film Institute (AFI) says, "Great movie quotes become part of our cultural vocabulary." I believe it! I bet you can recall, verbatim, any of the AFI's "100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time" if all I give you is a single word from the quote. For example, if I give you the word KANSAS, I bet you can recite this: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," from The Wizard of Oz (1939). I'll share each answer in the following issue. And we’ll work our way forward in time, starting with the oldest movies. Let’s play! From the previous issue: From a 1958 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word BANQUET? Answer: From Auntie Mame: "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Try this today: From a 1964 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word SHAKEN? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of MENAGERIE is A. CUNNING PLAN B. UNIFORM ASSEMBLY C. OPEN INDISCRETION 2. As the central symbol in the play, Laura's glass menagerie suggests _____. A. a deep love of humanity B. stinginess and single-mindedness C. confinement, freakishness, and allure 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. B 2. C