Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PANDEMIC

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"PANDEMIC" Meaning: A pandemic is a disease that has spread all over a large area. It might also be anything bad that's very common. Something pandemic is also extremely widespread (in a very bad way). Pronunciation: pan DEM ick Part of speech: It's both a noun ("a pandemic," "the pandemic," "pandemics") and an adjective ("a pandemic virus," "the pandemic fear.") Other forms: pandemics, pandemia/pandemicity How to use it: The noun is a lot more common than the adjective. For the noun, call something a pandemic when it seems to have infected a huge area of the world. Use the phrases "a (something) pandemic" or "a pandemic of (something)." Your meaning might be serious ("the HIV/AIDS pandemic") or otherwise ("the pandemic of boy bands.") For the adjective, talk about pandemic fear, pandemic corruption, pandemic and tragic abuse of punctuation, etc. With looser usage, as in "a pandemic of boy bands" and "this pandemic abuse of punctuation," just stay aware that you're making a comparison to a deadly disease. In much of dystopian fiction, the story opens after a pandemic has already ravaged the population. If you're worried about the sagging pants pandemic in this country, maybe you need a little more perspective! Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "pandemic" means when you can explain it without saying "universal" or "sickness." Think of a terrible, widespread problem you've noticed, either a real one or a silly one, and fill in the blanks: "The only way to contain (the _____ pandemic)/(the pandemic of _____) is/was to _____." Example: "The only way to contain the pandemic of Rebecca Black's song 'Friday' was to hunker down and ignore it until people's attention moved onto the next hilariously awful thing." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, with the gracious permission of author Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer, we’re sampling some English language trivia from Word Nerd: More Than 17,000 Fascinating Facts about Words. Dr. Kipfer’s book is a hearty 570-page feast that I’ve been gleefully devouring for the past few months. We’re starting off with easy questions, then working our way toward some whoppers at the end of the month, all the while focusing on funny, unusual words; surprising word histories; and cool tidbits about the language.  Yesterday's question: Match these funny words to their meanings below: dibble, diddledees, numptious, beblubbered, wopsy. 1.    _____: another word for “swollen” 2.    _____: fallen pine needles 3.    _____: to drink like a duck, lifting up the head after each sip 4.    _____: cuddly and delightful 5.    _____: tangled, disordered, uneven Answers: 1.    Beblubbered: another word for “swollen” 2.    Diddledees: fallen pine needles 3.    Dibble: to drink like a duck, lifting up the head after each sip 4.    Numptious: cuddly and delightful 5.    Wopsy: tangled, disordered, uneven Try this one today. It should feel moderately easy:   What do these words have in common? Abstemious, abstentious, annelidous, arsenious, caseious, fracedinous, and facetious.  A Point Well Made: Augustine of Hippo: “The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose…it will defend itself.” 1. The opposite of PANDEMIC is A. WRECKED B. REGAL C. RARE 2. The _____ grew into a pandemic of epic proportions. A. groundbreaking film B. contagious virus C. greedy child Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B