Make Your Point: GREEBLE

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pronounce GREEBLE:

GREE bull

connect this word to others:

(Source)

If you're adding random little thingamajigs to a model to give it scale and complexity, then you're greebling.

Let's recall some words for other delightfully specific activities:

1. What if you're performing music and collecting donations in public? You're b___ing.

2. What if you're tidily arranging many items all on one surface? You're kn___ing.

3. What if you're soaking in the warmth of the sun during winter? You're ap___ating.

4. What if you're exploring things that remind you of caves because they're dark, hidden, complex, or mysterious? You're sp____king.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

On the left: an ungreebled cube. On the right: a greebled cube. The greebles make it look super cool, right?

(Source)

I haven't been able to verify this for myself, but online, the word "greebles" is often attributed to George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, who may have invented it in the 1970s as a general term for the various interesting little doodads added to a surface (especially on a spacecraft or a weapon, or a model of one) to make it look high-tech and complicated.

Greebles might take the form of panels, switches, knobs, gears, wheels, bolts, or bits that poke out or light up. Or just various raised pixels on a surface, as in the greebled cube above.

If you're adding greebles to things, you're greebling: adding those various bits and pieces to decorate a surface and make it look scientifically advanced.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

"Greeble" is a noun, the countable kind: "The ship is covered in greebles."

"Greeble" is also a verb, the transitive kind: "We should greeble this ship more."

"Greebling" is a noun, meaning "the act or process of adding greebles," as in "This ship could use some more greebling."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "greebles."

"Greebles" are also known as "nurnies" and "greeblies" (with the singular spelled either "greebly" or "greeblie"). It's hard to tell, but I think "greeble" may be more common than its synonyms.

how to use it:

Pick the rare, cute, kooky term "greeble" when you need to talk about profusions of visual design elements that add a techy feel.

Since it's such a rare term, you may want to gloss it for your readers. Here's an example from the New York Times: "The surface of the Millennium Falcon is covered in greebles, or small attachments that serve no functional purpose."

examples:

"A common modelmaking technique for adding elements and greebles to make a design look realistic and sophisticated is to scavenge from existing model kits. Borrowing other parts and repurposing them on a new model is called kit-bashing. Speaking personally, it's also very satisfying making up greebles to add to a LEGO build (MOC—My-Own-Creation)—sometimes the most fun part."
— Jono Hey, Sketchplanations, 12 November 2023

"On Space Cowboys actually, we made a miniature that they ended up building in full scale in Los Angeles, and they replicated this greeblie. This greeblie is so universally used, it is called the Universal Greeblie [pictured below]."
— Adam Savage, Adam Savage's Tested, 2 July 2018

(Source)

has this page helped you understand "greeble"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "greeble" without saying "geometric detail" or "high-tech thingamajig."

try it out:

Imagine you're the art director for a sci-fi film. How would you design your spacecraft: greebled or ungreebled? Why?

before you review, play:

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.

Our game for this month is Just Joshing: John Oliver Edition!

Flex your creativity and word-finding skills as you fill in the blanks to create your own joke, following the example of the comedian John Oliver. Since the LOLs are in the details, try making your joke as specific (or weird) as possible.

For example, if I give you "The only things you should be buying on eBay are _____ and _____," then you might give me "The only things you should be buying on eBay are pieces of gum chewed by Elvis and unassembled snowmen." (Oliver's actual joke was "The only things you should be buying on eBay are vintage RadioShack swag and a discarded e-meter from the Church of Scientology.")

Try this one today: "The public estimates that a quarter of the federal budget goes to foreign assistance, and they'd prefer it to be just 10%. Although, all that really shows is that Americans have no idea how much we spend on foreign aid, given that the actual share is less than 1% of the federal budget. And never has a poll shown such distance from reality, since the one where one in eight men genuinely thought they could _____."

To see my crack at it, as well as Oliver's original joke, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. Near opposites of GREEBLED are

A. BLENDED and NUANCED.
B. SLEEK and UNADORNED.
C. QUICK and HIGH-PERFORMING.

2. In modelmaking, greebling has been called a "_____" approach, one that _____.

A. first-in, first-out .. ensures older materials get used up first
B. top-down .. focuses on the big picture to achieve coherence
C. guts-on-the-outside .. places technical-looking parts directly on a machine's surface

a final word:

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.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
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  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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A 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.

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