Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PHILIPPIC

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connect today's word to others: Let's dive into some ancient history. We're in Greece, near Sparta, around the year 340 BC. An approaching conqueror, Philip II of Macedon, sends a message to the residents, something like: "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." And these residents reply: "If." It's a famously lac__ic reply. And you might recall that the word lac__ic comes from Lac__ia, the name of the region around Sparta. Let's go back to Philip II, the would-be destroyer, slayer, and razer. He did end up conquering much of Greece--in spite of Lac__ians who fended him off with snappy comebacks, and in spite of Athenians like Demosthenes, who gave bitter, angry speeches decrying his conquest: "[Philip] blusters and talks big... Truly, men of Athens, I do think that Philip is drunk with the magnitude of his achievements." (First Philippic, 9-49.) Burn! And today, you can call any bitter, angry speech a philippic. Or you could call it a ti___e, or a har___ue, or a dia____e. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "PHILIPPIC" A philippic is an angry speech against something. In other words, a philippic is a verbal attack, or anything spoken or written that angrily or even violently rejects or criticizes something. Pronunciation: fuh LIP ick Part of speech: Most often a noun, the countable kind: "a philippic," "the philippics," "these philippics." Other forms: The plural is "philippics." It's rare, but "philippic" can also be an adjective, as in "a philippic speech." And, it's very rare, but you can "philippize," or "philippize someone or something;" the related forms are "philippized," "philippizing," and "philippizer(s)." How to use it: Because it comes from ancient Greek history, and because it was first associated with raging against conquerors, the word "philippic" has a serious, scholarly tone. Talk about someone's philippic, or the philippic of someone, often someone's philippic against some hated person or thing. Often, because someone will rage against the same hated person or thing over and over, we talk about philippics in the plural: "his philippics against Brexit," "her philippics against corporate invasions of privacy." And we talk about people making, giving, delivering, or pronouncing philippics--or hearing, reading, sharing, publishing, or publicizing philippics. Add an adjective, if you like: a fiery philippic, a political philippic, a familiar old philippic. examples: On Firefly, in Mal's philippic against the Alliance, we hear echoes of both Star Wars and ancient history: "That sounds like the Alliance. Unite all the planets under one rule so that everybody can be interfered with or ignored equally." "Ms. Goldstein’s book is meticulously fair and disarmingly balanced, serving up historical commentary instead of a searing philippic. A hate-read is nigh impossible."    — Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times, 24 August 2014 study it: Explain the meaning of "philippic" without saying "rant" or "denunciation." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is (moved, unmoved, convinced, or unconvinced) by (someone else's) philippics against _____." Example: "The president is unmoved by the Democrats' philippics against building a border wall." 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. Controversial Catchphrases! This month, let's consider all kinds of important, ongoing controversies in our world. I'll give you a handful of key phrases that people use when they argue over a controversial question, and you try to pinpoint what that question is. I'll be drawing these issues and phrases from ProCon.org, a fantastic resource for understanding controversial issues (and for introducing those issues to your kids). From the previous issue: People who argue "yes" say things like "parent involvement" and "good study habits." People who argue "no" say things like "stress" and "sleep deprivation." People who argue either side say "association with gains in achievement." What's the question? The question is, "Is homework beneficial?" (Explore this issue at ProCon.org.) Try this one today: People who argue "yes" say things like "dignity," "personal choice," and "unbearable symptoms." People who argue "no" say things like "societal risks," "ethical prohibition," and "incompatible with the physician's role." What's the question? review today's word: 1. The opposite of PHILIPPIC is A. CHEESEPARING. B. GROUPTHINK. C. PANEGYRIC. 2. _____ philippics, ProCon.org offers _____ summaries of controversial issues. A. Rising above the noisy discord of .. objective B. Adding emphasis and exposure to the .. incendiary C. Inspiring the populace to shed their apathetic .. breathless 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. A