Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TREACLY

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connect today's word to others: In case you somehow missed out on those holiday Hallmark Channel movies starring Lacey Chabert, just imagine great quantities of homemade cookies nearly crumbling under all their icing and sprinkles, as well as walks in the snow while holding hands and gazing at each other all doe-eyed as carolers carol and jingle bells jingle. It's treacly: sweet and syrupy in the extreme. Alternatively, you could call those movies sa_____ine: too sweet, like an overdose of sugar. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "TREACLY" Literal treacle ("TREE kull") is a kind of thick, sugary substance. And figurative treacle is anything overly sweet, especially things we say. Something treacly, then, is way too sweet. Pronunciation: Either "TREE klee" or "TREE kuh lee." Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a treacly thing." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was treacly.") Other forms: treacle, treacliness  How to use it: This word usually has a negative tone: treacly things annoy us with their sweetness, whether we find that sweetness overdone, unoriginal, sickening, or just hard to swallow. We often use "treacly" to describe sounds, tunes, songs, lyrics, and musical styles. We can also talk about treacly smells; treacly photos, artwork, and illustrations; treacly words, nicknames, phrases, and descriptions; treacly poems, stories, and books; treacly interviews; treacly shows and movies; treacly advertisements; treacly performances, etc. And more abstractly, we can talk about treacly dreams or goals, treacly cheeriness or optimism, treacly sentimentality, or anything with a treacly tone. To use the noun, call something treacle when it's disgustingly sweet, or talk about dismissing something as treacle, getting rid of the treacle, getting lost in the treacle, creating something sweet or genuine without treacle, etc. (Sometimes we'll say that doing something difficult or tedious is like walking, wading, or swimming through treacle. In this phrase, we're just emphasizing how treacle is thick and sticky.) examples: Full House episodes generally hit peak treacliness when the music wells up and Danny sits his daughters down for a serious talk. The summer we graduated high school, the radio constantly played Lifehouse's treacly "Hanging By a Moment." ("I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I've held onto..." Yeah, I'm calling it treacly, but I still love it.) study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "treacly" means when you can explain it without saying "sticky-sweet" or "syrupy." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Some particular ad, song, speech, book, show, etc.) is mostly treacle; (give an example)." Example: "The Lizzie McGuire Movie--yes, that's the title--is mostly treacle; it opens with Lizzie in her room, dancing and singing some upbeat yet nondescript song about perseverance and self-confidence." 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. Subject Line Redux! You know how I fill the subject line of each Make Your Point email with a little comment about the word? Let's revisit some of those subject lines; they make a good study tool. That is, you'll improve your chances of recalling our words when you need them later if you do this now: look at the little comment from the subject line and use that to recall the word, its meaning, and how it connects to the little comment. (For more on active recall and how you can employ it to strengthen your vocabulary, please go here.) In each issue this month, I'll share a puzzle or other activity that prompts you to recall 5 previous words based on their subject lines. (To make your own activities like these, check out the fun and useful Vocabulary Worksheet Factory.) And I'll share the answers in the following issue. From our previous issue:  Answers: Try this today: review today's word: 1. A close opposite of TREACLY is A. LEGITIMATE. B. RESPONSIVE. C. DOWN-TO-EARTH. 2. The album is heavy on the treacle, with track titles like _____ A. "Window Shopper." B. "Today Was a Fairytale." C.  "It's All About the Pentiums." 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