Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CIRCUMAMBULATE

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connect today's word to others: I don't know who wrote this silly version of "Three Blind Mice," but my mom taught it to my sister and me; we cracked ourselves up every time we sang it:    Three myopic rodents, three myopic rodents.     Observe how they perambulate, observe how they perambulate.    They all circumnavigated the agriculturer's spouse.    She excised their extremities with a carving utensil.    Did you ever regard such an occurrence in your existence    As three myopic rodents? Thanks to this song, since childhood, I've loved the words perambulate (literally to "walk through") and circumnavigate ("sail around"). They're so silly, so dressed-up, so unnecessarily long. Now if you cut apart perambulate and circumnavigate and stitch some pieces into another Latin-based piece of frippery, you get circumambulate--literally to "walk around"--which I didn't stumble upon until just now, on a casual perambulation through the Oxford English Dictionary. I bet you can list several words related to circumambulate, from circle and amble to longer ones like circ____us (literally "going around," and today meaning "indirect, roundabout, or going around and around in circles") and ambi___us (literally "wandering around," and today meaning "not clear or not definite: understood in two or more ways"). And I'm sure you can list plenty of figurative synonyms of circumambulate, like hem and haw, beat around the bush, m___ce words, equi___ate, and eu____ize. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "CIRCUMAMBULATE" To ambulate is to move or to walk. "Ambulate" is related to words like "ambulatory," meaning "able to walk," and "ambulance," literally a "walking (hospital)." And the silly word "circumambulate" means to walk around something, or to walk around something in words--that is, to talk around and around the real subject instead of getting straight to it. Pronunciation: SIRK um AM byuh late Part of speech: Verb, both the transitive kind ("they circumambulated the topic") and the intransitive kind ("they keep circumambulating"). Other forms: circumambulated, circumambulating; circumambulation; circumambulator(s); circumambulatory How to use it: When you need to sound silly in an overly refined or academic way, pick the word "circumambulate." You can be literal and talk about people circumambulating at a festival, people circumambulating in a tourist town, etc. Or add an object to the verb and talk about people circumambulating a statue, people circumambulating a building, etc. To be figurative, talk about people circumambulating in their speeches, conversations, emails, essays, etc. Or add an object: talk about people circumambulating the point, the issue, the question at hand, the real nitty gritty, etc. examples: After ten minutes of circumambulation, he asks us to work late on Saturday. "...the high-souled bird with a smiling face, thrice circumambulated that fire and then entered its flames."    — Vyasa, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, an ancient Indian epic translated into English around 1883 by Kisari Mohan Ganguli study it: Explain the meaning of "circumambulate" without saying "walk in circles" or "talk in circles." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Some app, device, process, or program) allows you to (accomplish something) without fuss, delay, or circumambulation." Example: "The touch-screen kiosks allow you to customize your Big Mac without fuss, delay, or circumambulation." 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. Tidbits and Titles! I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. From our previous issue: Here's a quote from a novel: "She lay under the heavy coverlid, her cheeks rosy with sleep, her head peacefully resting on her little round arm, and with a happy expression on her baby face as if dreaming of something pleasant." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that novel: barrel-organ, beautiful, cheese, child, delight, fir-trees, goatherd, grandfather, mighty wind, milk, mountain, shawl, village. What's the novel's title? Answer: Heidi. Try this today: Here's a quote from a book: "I began to shiver in a room suddenly gone cold, and I knew in my bones that the love we give and receive is all that matters and all that is remembered. Suffering disappears; love remains." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: children, Christmas, dream, Girl Scout cookies, heart, hugs, little boy, mother, President, self-esteem, smile, story, teacher, thank. What's the book's title? review today's word: 1. A near opposite of CIRCUMAMBULATE is A. THROW STONES. B. BORE TO DEATH. C. CUT TO THE CHASE. 2. As if _____, they circumambulate _____. A. hypnotized .. their hands B. performing a ritual .. the altar C. in a dream .. from the floor, floating 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