Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SHELLACKING

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connect today's word to others: At the root of today's word shellacking is lac, a protective coating that some bugs make. That reminds me of how some bugs have a protective layer called a ca____ce--and we can use that word figuratively to mean "something that reminds you of a hard, protective outer covering, such as someone's attitude or something's appearance." Could you recall it? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "SHELLACKING" Lac is a protective coating that some insects produce. Shellac is lac that's been formed into thin plates for manufacturing, or formed into a shiny, protective glaze that you can paint onto things (such as wood surfaces, or your fingernails). And if you shellac something, you coat it in shellac. Stick with me here as we jump to the meaning we'll focus on today. To shellac people is to beat them badly, and a shellacking is a major defeat or a major beating. (These are slang words from the 1930's that have entered our general vocabulary.) What's the link between shellacking, the coating, and shellacking, the trouncing? Why did we make that weird leap in meaning? No one knows for sure. Possibly because literal shellac is a finish, and to shellac someone is to finish him off. And possibly because a pasting is also a beating, and shellac is somewhat like paste. I'm still shrugging my shoulders on this one, y'all. Pronunciation: shuh LACK ing Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one shellacking or, rarely, multiple shellackings.) Other forms: shellac, shellacked How to use it: Although we can use the word "shellacking" in most situations, it's still got a slangy tone. But that makes it fun. Talk about people (or groups of people) suffering a shellacking, absorbing a shellacking, taking a shellacking, receiving a shellacking, getting shellacked, or getting shellacked by something or someone--sometimes in competitive situations that involve jobs, grades, money, the economy, popularity and so on, but usually in more straightforward competitions like athletic events and political debates and elections.  In fact, we often use "shellacking" to talk about politics, maybe because Barack Obama famously used it in 2010. It was right after the midterm elections went so poorly and his party lost control of the legislature: "I'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like I did last night." We also use "shellacking" to talk about sports: about the losing team's shellacking, or a shellacking of the losing team, possibly by the winning team. You might say that the winning team handed the losing team a shellacking. Finally, we can describe someone or something utterly defeated as shellacked: the shellacked Democrats, the shellacked show Big Brother, his shellacked confidence. examples: Despite his victory in the electoral college, he's still licking his wounds from the shellacking he took in the popular vote. After graduate school, she read more broadly and thought more carefully, and as a result the worldview she grew up with suffered a shellacking. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "shellacking" means when you can explain it without saying "drubbing" or "thrashing." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "When (someone) (defeated me somehow in some game or competition), I took the shellacking in stride." Example: "When Heidi ended our last round of Scrabble with a 52-point play, I took the shellacking in stride." 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 "Coiners & Coinages." Use your knowledge of science, history, literature, and vocabulary as you match newly coined words to the people who coined them, and vice versa. Let's do this! From our previous issue: A short, descriptive advertisement for a book is a BLURB. Who coined BLURB? Was it Gelett Burgess, the American novelist and engineer; Jonathan Swift, the Irish author and satirist; or Stephen Fry, the British actor, author, and comedian? Answer: It was Mr. Burgess. Check out his snarkiness: "On the 'jacket' of the 'latest' fiction, we find the blurb; abounding in agile adjectives and adverbs, attesting that this book is the 'sensation of the year.'" That was in 1914, and Burgess lived until 1951. Do you think he'd be mortified by the tone that advertising has taken these days? Try this today: To BELITTLE something is to shrink it, or to act like it's not important. Who coined BELITTLE: was it the anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet who wrote Beowulf, was it Sir Edward Dyer, or was it Thomas Jefferson? review today's word: 1. One opposite of SHELLACKING is A. ABUNDANCE. B. FRICTION. C. TRIUMPH. 2. He wanted to sell the house and spend five years backpacking across the continent; the idea took a shellacking at the dinner table _____. A. and was never mentioned again B. as they discussed the pros and cons C. as the kids voiced their immediate support for it  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. A