Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SLIPSTREAM
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
connect this word to others:
When you're caught in someone else's slipstream, you're zipping along in their wake, pulled effortlessly forward by the force of their motion. Here's US News: "European stock markets are registering big gains at the start of the trading week, flying in the slipstream of a massive 7 percent increase in Japan's Nikkei index."
Wheeee, hold on tight, European stock markets!
Now, who's up for an old-school analogy?
"European stock markets" are to "slipstream" as "Japan's Nikkei index" is to "v__gua__."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"SLIPSTREAM"
When some vehicle (like a car, a boat, or a helicopter) moves forward, the current flowing behind it is a slipstream: a current of air or water that follows closely behind that moving vehicle.
Figuratively, a slipstream is something that seems to flow helplessly behind some powerful thing or person who seems to be moving.
More loosely, we can use "slipstream" to mean "anything that seems to flow forcefully along," as in "the slipstream of history" or "the slipstream of progress."
"Slipstream" is a verb, too. To slipstream is to follow along closely, either helplessly or in imitation, behind some powerful thing or person.
Pronunciation:
SLIP streem
Part of speech:
Often a noun, the countable kind: "this slipstream," "they jump between slipstreams."
Also a verb, the transitive kind: "she slipstreamed them."
Other forms:
slipstreams, slipstreamed, slipstreaming
How to use it:
"Slipstream" is a fun, stylish word with a modern, technological flavor.
Its tone can be negative: if you're in a slipstream, you're perhaps less active, less hardworking, less creative or original, or less of a leader compared to whoever is creating that slipstream.
The key to using the word "slipstream" is to imply that some powerful person or thing makes or has a swiftly moving current, which draws in some less-powerful person or thing.
So, we talk about people or things being in the slipstream of someone or something else. More specifically, we say that someone or something is drifting, flying, soaring, being caught in, being pulled into, or being carried along in some slipstream.
examples:
"Blockbusters seem faster and more furious than ever, and not just because producers are desperate to slipstream the success of Vin Diesel’s tyre-screeching franchise."
— Graeme Virtue, The Guardian, 9 October 2019
"We looked towards what [David Bowie] did, we are all still walking in his slipstream. We are still many, many yards behind what he was doing because he led the way. "
— Midge Ure, as quoted by Tara John, Time, 11 January 2016
has this page helped you understand "slipstream"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "slipstream" without saying "a current" or "riding someone's coattails."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something) seems to glide along in the slipstream of (someone or something else)."
Example: "Curb Your Enthusiasm seemed to glide along in the slipstream of Seinfeld."
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 this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) said, "_____ is the brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh, that is to say over fear: fear of poverty, of suffering, of calumny, of illness, of loneliness and of death. There is no real piety without _____. _____ is the dazzling and glorious concentration of courage."
Answer: Heroism.
Try this one today:
Seneca (c 4 BC-AD 65) said, "Fire is the test of gold; _____, of strong men."
review this word:
1. A near opposite of TO SLIPSTREAM is
A. TO FORAGE.
B. TO TAKE THE LEAD.
C. TO FOLLOW IN ONE'S FOOTSTEPS.
2. He had spent too long, he realized, if not exactly _____, in its slipstream.
A. in the sunlight
B. at the drawing board
C. in the belly of the whale
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.
When you're caught in someone else's slipstream, you're zipping along in their wake, pulled effortlessly forward by the force of their motion. Here's US News: "European stock markets are registering big gains at the start of the trading week, flying in the slipstream of a massive 7 percent increase in Japan's Nikkei index."
"SLIPSTREAM" When some vehicle (like a car, a boat, or a helicopter) moves forward, the current flowing behind it is a slipstream: a current of air or water that follows closely behind that moving vehicle.
"Blockbusters seem faster and more furious than ever, and not just because producers are desperate to slipstream the success of Vin Diesel’s tyre-screeching franchise."
Explain the meaning of "slipstream" without saying "a current" or "riding someone's coattails."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something) seems to glide along in the slipstream of (someone or something else)."
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 TO SLIPSTREAM is
|