Make Your Point > Archived Issues > VOLTE-FACE

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explore the archives: Take the word about-face and dress it up in fine French clothing made of Italian cloth (in turn made of Latin thread), and it becomes volte-face. Very fancy, but it still simply means about-face. Dress up the term firm land in fine Latin clothes (a toga, maybe?) and it becomes te___ fi____. Again, it's fancy, but it still simply means firm land. We pick the fancier versions for formal contexts. make your point with... "VOLTE-FACE" "Volte-face" literally means "turn face." (It's French, through Italian, ultimately from Latin.) A volte-face is a person's major change from one attitude or opinion to a totally opposite attitude or opinion, as if the person has turned his face toward the opposite direction. Pronunciation: Either "volt FOSS" or "VOLT uh FOSS." (Be sure you don't say "face" the English way. In "volte-face," "face" rhymes with "boss.") 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 volte-face at a time.) Other forms: Just the plural, "voltes-face" or "volte-faces." Sources disagree on the proper form. I suggest avoiding the plural altogether; it's rare, anyway. How to use it: Talk about a volte-face, the volte-face, this volte-face, that volte-face, such a volte-face, and so on. Or, talk about a person's volte-face (or a group's volte-face): his volte-face, her volte-face, their volte-face, the company's volte-face, the news media's volte-face, the volte-face of the experts, this volte-face of hers. You can make a volte-face (or more casually, do a volte-face), perform a volte-face, demonstrate or reveal a volte-face, defend or justify your volte-face, try to understand or account for someone's volte-face, and so on. You might talk about a volte-face on or toward a topic or issue: "her volte-face on gun control," "their volte-face toward refugees." But most of the time, we don't need those prepositions: "his volte-face shocked us." Add an adjective if you like: a perfect volte-face, his mental volte-face, that sudden volte-face, their shocking volte-face, etc. Although it's usually a person or group of people making a volte-face, you can also say that one unusual event is a volte-face from normal events, suggesting that a large group or even society itself has turned its face in a different direction. examples: In a stunning volte-face, she converted to the very religion she'd so harshly criticized. The nation had become more liberal than ever before its electorate pushed it into a volte-face. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "volte-face" means when you can explain it without saying "a 180" or "a complete reversal." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "How does (a person or group) explain (his/her/its) volte-face on (a topic or issue)?" Example: "How does he explain his volte-face on the causes of global warming?" 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. This month, we're playing with lines of poetry that include words we've checked out together in previous issues. I’ll give you a few lines from the poem, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it. Each answer will appear in the next day's issue. Enjoy! From yesterday: From Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Ebb:"    "I know what my heart is like           Since your love died:     It is like a hollow ledge     Holding a little pool           Left there by the tide,           A little _____ pool,     Drying inward from the edge." Definition: just a little bit warm (or just a little bit cool); underwhelming. Answer: tepid. Try this today: From A. E. Stallings's poem "Sublunary:"    "Mid-sentence, we remembered the eclipse,     Arguing home through our _____ patch of park     Still warm with barrel wine." Definition: very limited or barely enough. (Hints: one syllable, five letters, starts with S.) review today's word: 1. The closest opposite of VOLTE-FACE is A. WAVERING B. HIDDENNESS C. STEADFASTNESS 2. Mounting _____ led to her volte-face. A. criticism against her leaders B. evidence disproving her theory C. responsibilities and expectations Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@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