Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RACONTEUR
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pronounce
RACONTEUR:
Say it "RACK on TUR."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
If you bump into the word raconteur, not knowing what it means, you could take a good guess: it kind of looks like recounter, and to recount a story is to retell it--so you could figure that a raconteur is someone who enjoys entertaining people by recounting stories and anecdotes.
You'd be right! Raconteur is close cousins with words like recount and account.
You could do the same thing with the word doppelganger. It kind of looks like double-goer. Can you connect those dots? How is a doppelganger pretty much the same as a double-goer?
definition:
"Raconteur" has Latin bits that mean "storyteller," or more literally, "(one who gives) an account again (of something that happened)." It came through French, which explains the fancy vowels. We've used it in English since about 1831.
A raconteur is a person who's great at amusing people by retelling stories, usually from their own experiences.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "He's the raconteur of the family;" "Comedians must be great raconteurs."
Other forms:
The plural is "raconteurs."
Although you can use "raconteur" to label a person of any gender, there's also a rare female form, "raconteuse," pronounced "RACK on TOOZE."
how to use it:
"Raconteur" is sophisticated and semi-common. And unless you're complaining about some raconteur who dominates the conversation, the tone of the word is very positive.
Refer to someone as a raconteur, or a born raconteur, a gifted raconteur, a natural raconteur, etc.
examples:
"[Taylor Negron] was a master raconteur, as illustrated by a recent childhood tale he weaved about the time he received a monkey for Christmas."
— Jeff Labrecque, Entertainment Weekly, 11 January 2015
(Here's the video. It's great! It's got some cursing and some general filth.)
"After hearing [Alan Cumming] tell tales about lip-syncing at Macy's Thanksgiving parade, crooning at the Hollywood Bowl and otherwise plunging head-first into middlebrow American pop culture, the audience quite understandably howled... Like all the best raconteurs, he persuades you to suspend your disbelief at least until the punch line arrives."
— Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2011
has this page helped you understand "raconteur"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "raconteur" without saying "funny storyteller" or "engaging teller of real-life incidents."
try it out:
I'm lucky: I have several raconteurs in my family. I still laugh today when I think of a story my brother-in-law tells about a time he worked in management at Red Lobster, and how he had to process data from customer surveys. He'd spent a long time scratching his head over a peculiar comment left by a customer. Completely devoid of context, the customer had written, "It was the fish." The mystery was never solved.
It's better when he tells it!
Talk about a raconteur you know personally. What's their best story: the one that still makes you laugh today when you recall it?
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 for this month is Rhyming Puzzles!
I'll give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase.
Longtime readers will recognize this game from years past, when we grappled with silly answers like "shopworn popcorn," "hidebound guide hound," "cow chow kowtow," "unflagging pun bragging," and "catch-as-catch-can Etch A Sketch fan."
The answers will get longer as the month goes on. To see the clue, click the link. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
Toward the end of an action movie, as the heroes are trapped in the villain's lair, certain to be killed any second, Arnold Schwarzenegger--the famed bodybuilder of years gone by--crashes a helicopter through the roof, rescuing the heroes in the nick of time. Thus, the movie ends with a ______ __-____ in a ____ __ _______.
The first set of blanks has two words: the first word is two syllables; and the second word is also two syllables, with one hyphen. The second set of blanks is one three-word term.
Clue: use this term.
review this word:
A. a BORE.
B. a DOWNER.
C. a BOASTER.
2.
In the Guardian, Sue Arnold noted, "Like most born raconteurs, [Robert Hughes] never lets facts _____."
A. go uncited
B. spoil a good story
C. be submitted to a candid world
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:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
A 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.
If you bump into the word raconteur, not knowing what it means, you could take a good guess: it kind of looks like recounter, and to recount a story is to retell it--so you could figure that a raconteur is someone who enjoys entertaining people by recounting stories and anecdotes.
"Raconteur" has Latin bits that mean "storyteller," or more literally, "(one who gives) an account again (of something that happened)." It came through French, which explains the fancy vowels. We've used it in English since about 1831.
Part of speech:
"Raconteur" is sophisticated and semi-common. And unless you're complaining about some raconteur who dominates the conversation, the tone of the word is very positive.
"[Taylor Negron] was a master raconteur, as illustrated by a recent childhood tale he weaved about the time he received a monkey for Christmas."
Explain the meaning of "raconteur" without saying "funny storyteller" or "engaging teller of real-life incidents."
I'm lucky: I have several raconteurs in my family. I still laugh today when I think of a story my brother-in-law tells about a time he worked in management at Red Lobster, and how he had to process data from customer surveys. He'd spent a long time scratching his head over a peculiar comment left by a customer. Completely devoid of context, the customer had written, "It was the fish." The mystery was never solved.
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.
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. |