Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PERSPICACIOUS

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connect today's word to others: Take the Latin roots per (meaning "through") and specere (meaning "look"), and you get the word perspective as well as today's word, perspicacious. Someone perspicacious, for example, Piggy from the novel Lord of the Flies, has a good, clear perspective on reality. He's sharp-sighted: he sees what other people don't; he's smart, quick, keen, insightful, discerning. It's so appropriate, then, how we always see Piggy fussing with his glasses: "'My specs!' howled Piggy. 'Give me my specs!'" The word spectacles, of course, shares that same Latin root, specere, with perspicacious. We also saw specere in t___spic____, that rare word meaning "clear and plain, or easy to notice." Could you recall it? Finally, see if you can recall these synonyms of perspicacious: 1. Someone j_d_c___s has wise judgment and is sensible and practical. 2. Someone p_rc_p__nt is quick to notice and understand everything, especially the tiny differences between things. 3. And, someone s_g_c___s is very smart in a sharp, practical way, noticing everything and processing it quickly. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "PERSPICACIOUS" Perspicacious people and things are sharp, wise, and observant. Pronunciation: PER spih CAY shuss Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a perspicacious thing" or "a perspicacious person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was perspicacious" or "He was perspicacious.") Other forms: perspicaciously, perspicacity ("PER spih CASS ih tee") How to use it: Talk about perspicacious people and groups, like perspicacious readers, viewers, consumers, renters, homeowners, writers, speakers, reporters, investors, marketers, etc. And you can say that someone's mind, wit, wisdom, or intellect is perspicacious. Or, talk about perspicacious things that people say, think, or write: perspicacious insights, judgments, and observations; perspicacious comments and questions; perspicacious articles, essays, and novels; etc. examples: To him, she's flawless. He's too in love with her to see her with perspicacious eyes. "It was my intention to devote a long and distinct paragraph to each of four other subjects... But it is well to leave something to the reader's perspicacity and inventive powers."    —William Young, Mathieu Ropars: et cetera, 1868 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "perspicacious" without saying "shrewd" or "perceptive." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) (writes or speaks) perspicaciously about _____." Example: "Glenn Ringtved wrote perspicaciously, and tenderly, about death." 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. This month, we're playing "Sleek Slogans." I'll take a familiar slogan from a company or a product, express that slogan in plain language, and tell you the specific qualities the slogan has (like rhyme or alliteration), and then you come up with the real slogan as well as the name of the company or product. From the previous issue: Rewrite this slogan by using repetition, concision (the use of as few words as possible), and onomatopoeia (words that actually sound like what they mean): "Drive our vehicles, and enjoy the sound they make." Answer: That's a slogan for Mazda: "Zoom zoom."  Try this one today: Rewrite this slogan by using rhyme, concision (the use of as few words as possible), and parallelism (the use of balanced clauses or phrases): "Order food from us, and we'll make it according to your preferences, quickly." review today's word: 1. One opposite of PERSPICACIOUS is A. FALLACIOUS. B. LOQUACIOUS. C. OBLIVIOUS. 2. He lost his reputation for perspicacity when _____. A. he decided to offer discounts to low-income customers B. his predictions for the tennis match were starkly inaccurate C. his employees banded together to walk out in protest 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. C 2. B