Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SIREN

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connect today's word to others: Sirens are creatures from Greek myth--sometimes beautiful, sometimes monstrous, always female--who lure sailors to their doom with their enchanting, irresistible songs. In Homer's Odyssey, Ulysses ties himself firmly to the mast of the ship to resist the sirens' call, averting a shipwreck. So, when something is so tempting to you that it's H____ic (grand or large-scale, like an epic poem), say that you're trying to resist its siren call or its siren song. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "SIREN" "Siren" is from Greek and might literally mean "entangler"--it might come from a word meaning "cord" or "rope." In classical mythology, a siren was a female part-human creature whose magical, enticing songs lured sailors to crash their ships. (Artists have often painted sirens as mermaids.) So, today, "siren" can, of course, mean "a machine that makes a loud warning sound," but it can also mean a person or thing that's charming and tempting, yet deceptive or destructive. Pronunciation: SIGH run Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "a siren," "these sirens." Other forms: The plural is "sirens." "Siren" is also a rare verb meaning "entice:" you can siren someone, or siren someone to do something--or, alternately, you can "sirenize" someone. You can also use "siren" loosely like an adjective: "siren song," "siren voice," "siren notes," "siren beauty," etc. For a more straightforward adjective, use "siren-like," or pick from the rarer, more scholarly adjectives: "sirenic" and "sirenical." How to use it: The tone of this word is slightly scholarly, but it's still great for humor, exaggeration, and casual conversation. You might simply refer to something as a siren. If you refer to someone as a siren, you're saying she's seductive. Here's the Los Angeles Times: "The actress is tall and blond with the dramatically arched eyebrows of a classic film siren." But it's more common to talk about something's "siren song" or "siren call," and about people being deaf to that sound, closing their eyes to that sound, heeding it, falling for it, being lured by it, etc. What kinds of things try to beckon us with their siren calls? Anything tempting and alluring but potentially destructive, from brownies and shortcuts to wealth, charisma, and false promises. examples: With barbecue chips, if I have one, I might have fifty, so I typically steer clear of their siren call. "Conservatives should reject this nativist siren song [of abolishing birthright citizenship] and reaffirm the law and policy of one of the Republican Party’s greatest achievements: The 14th Amendment to the Constitution."    — John Yoo, Fox News, 31 October 2018 study it: Explain the meaning of "siren" without saying "charmer" or "temptation." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "There's something deeply alluring, even sirenical, about _____, with (his, her, or its) _____." Example: "There's something deeply alluring, even sirenical, about 'Container,' with its sibilant repetition of the line "sink back into the ocean.'" 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. Our game is "TV Tropes!" This month, we're playing with tropes from TVTropes.org. TV tropes are storytelling devices, which can come from any source of fiction—TV, movies, books, you name it. They're the archetypes, the story patterns, the plot devices, the cheap tricks, the situational clichés that we see over and over throughout fiction.  Examples of TV tropes include "Skyward Scream," "Banister Slide," "Caught on the Jumbotron," "Burp of Finality," "City People Eat Sushi," "Dance Party Ending," "Clean Pretty Childbirth," "Come Back to Bed, Honey," "Even the Subtitler is Stumped," and tens of thousands more. Naming a trope can be a straightforward business, as in the "Skyward Scream." But often it demands precision, inviting the use of humorously sophisticated terms. Enter our Make Your Point words.  In each issue this month, consider the name of a TV trope, and try to define it or even give an example from a TV show or other work of fiction. From the previous issue: In fiction, most notably cartoons, what is the trope known as Drool Deluge? Answer: It's when some excessively enticed character drools in outrageous quantities. For example, in SpongeBob SquarePants, when the greedy Mr. Krabs is offered a high price for an item, he drools a river. Try this today: In fiction, what is the trope known as the Extreme Omnivore? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of SIREN-LIKE is A. HONEST. B. COMPLEX. C. REPULSIVE. 2. The addict's _____ is _____, like the call of a siren. A. thinking .. rattled B. craving .. compelling C. spending .. destructive 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. B