Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ROOT AND BRANCH
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Let's talk roots!
The word radical comes from the Latin word for "roots," so it's easy to see why it sometimes means "basic or fundamental" as well as "going straight to where the problem started," as in "radical surgery."
But if you've ever looked up why radical also means "extreme or aggressive" as well as "cool, awesome, totally dope," then your research led you through British political history and American surfer slang: the idea being that radical things often involve ripping things out by the root.
It's a violent metaphor, one that we've explored before when we studied the words eradicate and deracinate, both of which mean "to destroy something, as if you're ripping it out by the roots."
Of those two words, do you recall which one is often a good thing, something we do to weeds and diseases--and which one is often a bad thing, something that wars do to people and that climate change does to polar bears?
If you're not sure, give them a click: eradicate and deracinate.
Keeping with this whole violent, literally radical metaphor of ripping things out by the root, let's explore the phrase root and branch.
make your point with...
"ROOT AND BRANCH"
Imagine someone completely destroying a tree, from the branches to the trunk all the way down to the roots. That's the kind of total, permanent destruction that this phrase expresses.
To get rid of something root and branch is to get rid of it completely and permanently.
Pronunciation:
ROOT and BRANCH
Part of speech:
Most often an adverb: "they destroyed it root and branch," "they abolished it root and branch."
Other forms:
We can also use it loosely like an adjective, sometimes with hyphens: "it's a root and branch policy," "this root-and-branch attempt."
How to use it:
If you talk about getting rid of something root and branch, or destroying something root and branch, or attacking something root and branch--or if you talk about a root-and-branch review, reform, overhaul, restructuring, opposition, rejection, or destruction--you're echoing both English history and the Bible.
Here's the scoop.
A form of "root and branch" first popped up in the Bible, in the scary and violent Malachi 4:1:
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Then, in the 1640s, people in England echoed this idea when they petitioned to rid their government entirely of the episcopal part (that is, the part with all the bishops). They didn't want to just reform that part: they wanted it gone, utterly and forever. In their petition, they wrote: "That the said government, with all its dependencies, roots, and branches, be abolished."
So, the phrase "root and branch" has a historical, biblical flavor--but for your listeners who aren't aware of that, it's also just plain and simple to understand. Much like "tooth and nail," or "come hell or high water."
examples:
"In large areas of constitutional law, Judge Robert Bork is a committed radical. He wants to tear up settled understandings of the Constitution, root and branch."
— Anthony Lewis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 September 1987
"The conservatives who opposed [Trump] in 2016 have increasingly divided into distinct camps — one group continuing to criticize him but still backing the institutional G.O.P., and the other following their anti-Trumpism into root-and-branch opposition to his party."
— Ross Douthat, New York Times, 27 October 2018
has this page helped you understand "root and branch"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "root and branch" without saying "wholly" or "completely."
try it out:
Think about some aspect of your life that has gotten difficult, out of hand, no longer any fun, or overly complicated.
Or, think about some program, process, or department that has gotten unnecessarily complex and frustrating, the result of bureaucratic bloat.
What would it be like if you gave it a root-and-branch overhaul? Talk about it.
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.
This month, we're playing "What's the Word?"
On Reddit, r/whatstheword is a community of about 55,000 members: folks who gather to help each other out when they can't think of a particular word. "It's on the tip of my tongue," they say. Or, "This word might not even exist. Help!"
In each issue this month, check out a post from the community, and see if you can come up with the word or phrase in question. We'll work our way from relatively easy to extremely hard questions as the month goes on.
From the previous issue: A community member asked, "What's the word for the opposite side of the spine of a book? You have the 'cover,' the 'back,' the 'spine,' and the...um...what?"
Answer: "Fore edge." There's also the "top edge" and the "bottom edge," so along with "spine," "cover," and "back," we've named all six surfaces of a book.
Try this today: A community member asked, "Is there a word for this feeling? Sometimes I can't finish watching a TV show, or movie, because the scene is so awkwardly painful to watch. For example, The Office does this all the time. Sometimes the scene is just so stupid, where the time until when the conflict is resolved just drives me nuts and I can't finish it. The feeling is worse when I've already seen it, and know what's coming. I think what the creators were going for in this case is schadenfreude, but instead of feeling pleasure at the (fake) pain caused to the character, I feel anxiety. Is there a word for this?"
I'll share the answer in the upcoming issue, but if you can't wait, you can view the whole original thread here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of ROOT AND BRANCH is
A. WILLY-NILLY.
B. PART AND PARCEL.
C. IN SOME MEASURE.
2. They're the root-and-branchers, the ones who want to _____.
A. simplify every aspect of the program
B. send the whole program to the woodchipper
C. bring environmental awareness to the program
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.
Let's talk roots!
"ROOT AND BRANCH" Imagine someone completely destroying a tree, from the branches to the trunk all the way down to the roots. That's the kind of total, permanent destruction that this phrase expresses.
"In large areas of constitutional law, Judge Robert Bork is a committed radical. He wants to tear up settled understandings of the Constitution, root and branch."
Explain the meaning of "root and branch" without saying "wholly" or "completely."
Think about some aspect of your life that has gotten difficult, out of hand, no longer any fun, or overly complicated.
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of ROOT AND BRANCH is
|