Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PITHY
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PITHY:
Say it "PITH ee."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Before we explore the word pithy, see if you can recall three close synonyms of it:
1. Things and people that waste no words are t___e. It's as if they've wiped their speech or writing clean of any unnecessary words or phrases.
2. Literally t_____nt things have a sharp edge that's good for cutting things. And figuratively t_____nt things are sharp because they cut straight to the point: they're smart, effective, and clear and direct.
3. In ancient Greece, people from a certain region were known for using very few words to express themselves. And so, today, when we call someone l____ic, we mean they get their point across in very few words.
Need some hints?
Word #1 up there, which involves figurative cleaning, is related to the word detergent.
Word #2, which involves figurative cutting, is related to trench.
And word #3 comes from the name of that place in ancient Greece: Lakonia.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We took the word "pith" from an Old English one with the same meaning. The pith of a fruit is the soft stringy inside part, and the pith of a tree trunk is the very center part.
Figuratively, the pith of anything is the most basic, important part "inside" of it.
Something pithy, then, gets right to the important heart of the matter. In other words, pithy things are short and full of meaning.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a pithy comment," "the analysis was pithy."
Other forms:
Pith, pithily, pithiness.
how to use it:
This semi-common word is a bit formal. Its tone is positive.
Talk about pithy comments, commentary, and summaries; pithy advice, phrases, lines, and quotes; pithy dialogue and arguments; pithy questions, responses, and comebacks, and so on.
Sometimes we'll say that a person is pithy, but only in reference to something he or she said. "He's pithy as he responds to the interviewer." "Asked to explain her inspiration, she remains pithy."
examples:
"'Show me your friends, and I'll tell you what you are,' is a pithy Spanish proverb. Choose yours, I earnestly entreat, in early life, with a view to self-improvement and self-respect."
— Margaret C. Conkling, The American Gentleman's Guide to Politeness and Fashion, 1864
"Both the headline and the story used the word 'hatriots'. That term, a pithy conflation of 'hate' and 'patriots', struck me as perfectly suited to our current moment... the word clearly referred to people who wrap toxic intolerance in the perfumed cloak of patriotism."
— Samuel G Freedman, The Guardian, 7 August 2019
has this page helped you understand "pithy"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "pithy" without saying "pointed" or "concise."
try it out:
In the New York Times, Rory Smith wrote:
"Politicians across the world use [the phrase 'fake news'] as a pithy put-down to dismiss any accusation they find uncomfortable. Sports stars and celebrities increasingly reach for it as a defense mechanism... The phrase has been used so often, an argument can be made that because it means almost everything, it no longer means anything at all. To most, though, it signifies a story where the facts are so disputed or distorted that truth itself becomes fluid."
Here, we're seeing that we can all look at the same little phrase--"fake news"--and while some of us call it "pithy," others call it the opposite, "meaningless." Pithiness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Talk about whether you think the phrase "fake news" is pithy, meaningless, or somewhere in between, and why. If it depends: on what?
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 this month is "Faces & Feelings."
If the word you're studying were a facial expression, what would it look like? Maybe one of the seven universal facial expressions, the ones identified by the psychologist Paul Ekman.
In each issue, take a handful of words and assign each to an emotion it inspires. I'll list my answers at the bottom of each issue. Yours might be different from mine, which is okay--words, and emotions, are complex and personal! The goal here is just to interact with our words, to tie them more securely into memory by connecting them to emotion and to the face.
Try this set today. Match each face on the left to a term on the right:
Damoclean
dastardly
debacle
déclassé
defenestrate
diadem
dirge
review this word:
A. DIFFUSE (wordy).
B. CATHARTIC (providing an emotional release).
C. CATHOLIC (accepting everything, or affecting everyone).
2. Pith helmets take their name from the material they're made of, harvested from the _____ of tree trunks.
A. outer bark
B. inner bark
C. very core
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.
Before we explore the word pithy, see if you can recall three close synonyms of it:
We took the word "pith" from an Old English one with the same meaning. The pith of a fruit is the soft stringy inside part, and the pith of a tree trunk is the very center part.
Part of speech:
This semi-common word is a bit formal. Its tone is positive.
"'Show me your friends, and I'll tell you what you are,' is a pithy Spanish proverb. Choose yours, I earnestly entreat, in early life, with a view to self-improvement and self-respect."
Explain the meaning of "pithy" without saying "pointed" or "concise."
In the New York Times, Rory Smith wrote:
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.
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