Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RIVET

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connect this word to others: Here's Rosie the Riveter, that popular poster that dates back to World War II. She appears to be both a literal riveter (someone who fastens machine parts together) and a figurative riveter (someone who holds our attention and fascination). Rivets (those little bits of hardware) and riveters (the tools or people that attach them) provide a metaphor we use all the time: we constantly talk about being riveted, or held firmly in place, by stories, speeches, spectacles, performances, etc. Below is a list of words for other tools or hardware that we've checked out. Can you explain the metaphorical power of each? 1. To tamp something down is to... 2. To ratchet something up is to... 3. To shoehorn something in is to... 4. When something harrows you, it... 5. When you do something hammer and tongs, you... make your point with... "RIVET" This word comes from a French one that means "fasten." Rivets are little fasteners, like these: (Thanks for the picture, Wikipedia!) A rivet connects two pieces (usually of metal) tightly together.  So, figuratively, a rivet is anything that strongly connects things. "Rivet" is a verb, too. If you literally rivet things, you connect them with rivets. If you figuratively rivet things or people, you connect them tightly together, or you force them to stay in one place, as if you're fastening them into place with rivets. And, because we so often talk about things that rivet us by catching and holding our attention, the verb "rivet" can also simply mean "to fascinate or entertain in a way that keeps you frozen in place." Pronunciation: RIV it (rhymes with "give it") Part of speech: "Rivet" is most often a verb, the transitive kind: "we were riveted to the screen."  Other forms: rivets, riveted, riveting, rivetingly, riveter(s) How to use it:  Most of the time, we use this common, powerful word to talk about the things that earn our full, rapt attention: "I was riveted by the novel," "our eyes were riveted to the stage," "their music is riveting," "their performance was riveting." examples: "I remember watching [the Apollo 11 landing] in the living room. I was there with my family, and I was just riveted to the television set."    — Michael Massimino, as quoted in an interview with Jennifer Leman, Scientific American, 19 July 2019 "His face appeared at the window. He studied me, and an inane grin spread across his lips like a stain. Tap-tap-tap, his hand beat on the glass as if to hold my attention so he could study me a little longer, tap-tap-tap. There was no need for that; my eyes were riveted to his face, and my mouth opened in a voiceless scream."    — Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, 1991 has this page helped you understand "rivet"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "rivet" without saying "transfix" or "fascinate." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) stood, riveted by (some incredible sight)." Example: "Taylor stood, riveted by the enormous Christmas tree with the silver baubles larger than her head." If you like, use this space to draft your sentence. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. In August, we're playing the time-honored Game of Venery! We're inventing terms for groups of things: terms that James Lipton, the author of An Exaltation of Larks, calls "shards of poetry and truth." Example terms of venery include lovely ones like "a conflagration of fireflies" and silly ones like "a myopia of umpires," "a rash of dermatologists," and "an unemployment of graduates." In each issue this month, I'll offer two templates. Have fun filling them in and sharing your inventions with your family, being as lofty, silly, or bawdy as you like. In each subsequent issue, I'll list the actual terms that appear in Lipton's book. From the previous issue: 1. A fortitude of _____ 2. A _____ of night students The terms listed in the book are "a fortitude of graduate students" and "a pallor of night students." Try these today: 1. An oxymoron of _____ 2. A _____ of libraries review this word: 1. A near opposite of RIVET is A. REAP. B. RUFFLE. C. REPULSE. 2. The book his dad loaned him was so riveting that he _____. A. barged into his living room to hurl it back at him B. read it from cover to cover without budging from the sofa C. found thinner and thinner excuses to avoid reading it, even alphabetizing the contents of the pantry 1. C 2. B 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.