Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DAEDALIAN
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
Remember a few months back, when we checked out the word Icarian? With the Greek mythic figure Icarus, with the wax wings and the plunging to his own stupid death?
(Source)
Part of speech:
Let's say you want to compare something ingenious and fanciful to the wax wings from the story of Icarus and Daedalus, but you don't want to call it "Icarian" because the connotation is wrong. That is, you don't want to connote how the wings failed Icarus, leading him to his death. You just want to connote the ingenuity: how the wings actually worked, helping Daedalus to escape the labyrinth.
"Here is an author who keeps extending the limitless boundaries of fiction. Living in a Daedalian waxworks reality, these Ballard characters nearly always succeed in taking wing before melting under the sun."
Explain the meaning of "Daedalian" without saying "ingenious" or "Byzantine."
You might describe a story's plot as Daedalian if it's brilliant and complex: full of twists and turns, and skillfully designed, so that when you finally finish it, you feel a disorienting mixture of relief, accomplishment, and amazement.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
The opposite of DAEDALIAN could be
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. |