Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FULCRUM

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connect today's word to others: When you need a good word to describe the most important, most central thing or person in a group, and if you prefer a metaphor from physics, pick the word fulcrum. If you prefer a vehicular metaphor, pick lin____n. And if you prefer an architectural metaphor, pick ke_____e. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "FULCRUM" We got the word "fulcrum" from a Latin one meaning "a bedpost, or the supporting part of a couch." Today, though, we associate the word "fulcrum" not with furniture but with physics or mechanics. Picture a see-saw on a playground. The moving plank rests against a fulcrum, or a support, right where the planks turns. Strictly speaking, a fulcrum is any supporting point where a lever turns. And if we're talking about the anatomy of plants, animals, or bugs, a fulcrum is a part that supports, like a hinge. Generally speaking, a fulcrum is an important person, thing, or idea that supports and/or affects everything else or everybody else. Also, some writers these days are starting to use "fulcrum" to mean "a balancing point, or a tipping point." Dictionaries haven't recognized that meaning yet. But it makes a lot of sense, especially when you picture a lever on a fulcrum. Pronunciation: FULL krum (or "FUHL krum") Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one fulcrum or multiple fulcra or fulcrums.) Other forms: The adjective is "fulcral." "Fulcrum" is a verb, too, so you can fulcrum something, meaning you give it a fulcrum or you turn it on a fulcrum, and you can say that one thing fulcrums on another thing, meaning it turns around that thing or depends on it. (The other forms are spelled "fulcrumed" and "fulcruming.") How to use it: Call someone or something a fulcrum, or the fulcrum, often of an event, creation, process, team, company, movement, or society--or of a claim, belief, argument, issue, controversy, etc. Or, you can say that someone or something emerges as the fulcrum of something, serves as the fulcrum of something, is seen as the fulcrum of something, etc. Although we usually we say "fulcrum of something," sometimes it's "fulcrum for something." To take the metaphor a bit further, you can say that something rests on the fulcrum of something else. Here's The Rotarian: "The courtroom is the fulcrum on which rest the scales of justice." And when you need to talk about more than one fulcrum, call them fulcra if you're a language purist, or just call them fulcrums if you're a more casual speaker. examples: The right to vote remains the fulcrum of our democracy; we have to protect it. "She also dismissed Tutu, post-apartheid South Africa’s moral fulcrum, as a 'cretin' and rubbished his attempts at national healing as a 'religious circus.'"    —Ed Cropley, Reuters, 2 April 2018 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "fulcrum" without saying "pivotal thing" or "what everything depends on." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(In a certain TV series, movie series, or book series), (a certain character, issue, event, or scene) serves as the fulcrum, (affecting the whole story in a certain way)." Example: "In the Kill Bill movies, the wedding-day massacre serves as the fulcrum, sending the Bride on her rampage." 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. Apt Adjective Anagrams!  I'll invent a person's name and a brief description of that person, and you unscramble the letters in the name to form an adjective that aptly describes the person or the person's situation. For example, if I say "Naomi Cirous is still holding a grudge," then you rearrange the letters in "Naomi Cirous" to form the adjective "acrimonious," meaning "sharp, bitter, and mean"--an appropriate adjective for someone holding a grudge. From the previous issue: Rose Uno is the sole caretaker for her aging parents. Answer: Her life is onerous. Try this today: When she tells anecdotes or describes problems, Cybil Hoper always exaggerates. review today's word: 1. A close opposite of FULCRAL is A. DIAMETRIC. B. HAIR-TRIGGER. C. TANGENTIAL. 2. Free speech was the fulcrum of their argument, _____. A. so they didn't even need to mention it B. irrelevant, but the only point on which they'll ever agree C. and after an hour, they still haven't agreed on a definition of it 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. C