Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SKYSCRAPING
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
connect this word to others:
I love adjectives like cheeseparing, hairsplitting, hoodwinking, joyriding, keelhauling, and skyscraping.
They're fun, they're hyperbolic, and they convey not just a still image but a moving one.
Did I list any words you might want to review? If so, give them a click.
make your point with...
"SKYSCRAPING"
Before we referred to buildings as skyscrapers, we applied the term "skyscraper" to all kinds of things either very tall or very high: sails, hats, horses, people, footballs, and even exaggerated stories.
(Thanks for the picture, Wikipedia!)
But most of us are thinking of the buildings when we call something skyscraping.
Like it sounds, something skyscraping seems to scrape the sky because it's extremely high or tall.
Pronunciation:
SKY SCRAY ping
Part of speech:
Adjective: "this skyscraping hill," "those prices are skyscraping."
Other forms:
skyscraper(s)
How to use it:
This word is fun and clear. It can replace the clunkier phrase "as tall as a skyscraper."
Use it for exaggeration as you talk about skyscraping objects, features, buildings, heights, prices, fees, etc.
examples:
Somehow, Amy Winehouse's expanding eyeliner and skyscraping hairdo matched the outrageous depth of her voice.
"[San Antonio:] very hot, palmy, old Spanish cathedral, a river winding in and out of town, very clean and skyscraping and ancient at the same time."
— Graham Greene, in a postcard to his wife, 1938, as reported by Mary George in Rosengren's Books: An Oasis for Mind and Spirit, 2015
has this page helped you understand "skyscraping"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "skyscraping" without saying "outrageously high" or "outrageously tall."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Why is (something) priced at a skyscraping $_____?"
Example: "Why is this Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette priced at a skyscraping $239?"
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 Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
From the previous issue: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
"<1>, literally a going around to solicit votes, has primary reference to the award or approval of others, and is the eager desire of power, fame, or something deemed great and eminent. The prizes of <2> are always virtue, nobility, skill, or other high qualities. The prizes of <1> are commonly advancement, fame, honor, and the like. In our older literature this word [<1>] is chiefly applied to inordinate and selfish desire for supremacy. However, <1> is now largely used of an eager and steadfast person to obtain something commendable in itself, viewed as a worthy prize. There is a noble and wise or an ignoble, selfish, and harmful <1>. <2> is a striving for something thought to be above one, as wisdom, virtue, etc."
Answers:
<1> is "ambition."
<2> is "aspiration."
Try this today: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
"<1>, habitual longing or desire to gratify something, is used only of the demands of the physical system, unless otherwise expressly stated, as when we say a/an <1> for knowledge; <2> includes all excitable impulses of our nature, as anger, fear, love, hatred, etc. <1> is thus more animal than <2>; and when we speak of <2>s and <1>s as conjoined or contrasted, we think of the <1>s as wholly physical and of the <2>s as, in part at least, mental or emotional. We say a/an <1> for food, a <2> for fame."
Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences between "detect" and "discover." You can view the answer in this issue.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of SKYSCRAPING is
A. HIT-OR-MISS.
B. ROCK-BOTTOM.
C. FREE-WHEELING.
2. As best I can tell, "skyscraping" is a technique that involves stealing content from other websites, remaking it yourself, then, by manipulating systems of links, forcing this new content _____ the original content.
A. "inside"
B. "on top of"
C. into a "bubble" around
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.
I love adjectives like cheeseparing, hairsplitting, hoodwinking, joyriding, keelhauling, and skyscraping.
"SKYSCRAPING" Before we referred to buildings as skyscrapers, we applied the term "skyscraper" to all kinds of things either very tall or very high: sails, hats, horses, people, footballs, and even exaggerated stories.
(Thanks for the picture, Wikipedia!)
Somehow, Amy Winehouse's expanding eyeliner and skyscraping hairdo matched the outrageous depth of her voice.
Explain the meaning of "skyscraping" without saying "outrageously high" or "outrageously tall."
Fill in the blanks: "Why is (something) priced at a skyscraping $_____?"
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 SKYSCRAPING is
|
