Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TRUCKLE

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connect today's word to others: Think back to your playground days. Did you have a follower, a hanger-on, someone who would shadow you, laugh loudly at all your jokes, do exactly as you told them to, and practically worship you? That poor soul was a truckler, also known as a k_wt_wer (someone who acts like a respectful servant) and a t__dy (someone who acts like an adoring servant). (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "TRUCKLE" A truckle (and a truck, in its oldest sense) is a little wheel that you roll things on.  A truckle-bed, also called a trundle-bed, is a bed close to the floor that's on little wheels or casters, and when you're not using it, you slide the whole bed underneath a regular bed. Figuratively speaking, if you're the one who has to sleep in the truckle-bed, it means that you're lower (lower in status or importance) than the person in the real bed. And so, to truckle to people is to yield or submit to them in a weak or timid way, as if you're sleeping on the floor below them. Pronunciation: TRUH kull (rhymes with "buckle") Part of speech: Verb, the intransitive kind. People truckle to other people, or they just plain truckle. Other forms: truckled, truckling, truckler(s) How to use it: Talk about people truckling to other people:    "they truckled to the invaders,"    "he refuses to truckle to his enemies,"    "she won't truckle to her superiors at work,"    "the writers don't need to truckle to their fans like that,"    "let's elect someone who won't truckle to Washington insiders." You can also say that people truckle to others' tastes, to others' wishes or desires, to others' wealth or power, to harmful ideals or interests, etc. examples: On his bizarre show, he rants, screams, and blames the nation's problems on various scapegoats, truckling (profitably) to his angry mob of viewers. "Mrs. Dax presided over the gathering with awful severity. Every one truckled to her shamefully, receiving her lightest remarks as if they were to be inscribed on tablets of bronze."    —Marie Manning, Judith Of The Plains, 1903 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "truckle" without saying "grovel" or "suck up to." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "The public has a (taste, hunger, or demand) for _____, and _____ truckles to it." Example: "The public has a hunger for celebrity gossip, and this magazine truckles to it." 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 "Sleek Slogans." I'll take a familiar slogan from a company or a product, express that slogan in plain language, and tell you the specific qualities the slogan has (like rhyme or alliteration), and then you come up with the real slogan as well as the name of the company or product. From the previous issue: Rewrite this slogan by using rhyme, concision (the use of as few words as possible), and alliteration (repeated sounds, as in "vim and vigor"): "Because we've stamped small smiles into our products, it's as if you and our products are smiling at one another." Answer: That's a slogan for Goldfish crackers: "The snack that smiles back."  Try this one today: Rewrite this slogan by using imagery, hyperbole (exaggeration), and concision (the use of as few words as possible): "Our product provides you with so much energy that you feel like you could fly." review today's word: 1. A close opposite of TRUCKLE is A. HARBOR. B. FLAUNT. C. DEFY. 2. Neither the American spirit nor the American people will ever truckle to _____. A. tyrants B. challenges C. independence 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