This week’s theme
Tools and devices that became metaphors

This week’s words
chalk line
ratchet
parish pump
windmill
Swiss Army knife

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(RACH-it)

MEANING:

noun:	1. A mechanism consisting of a toothed wheel or bar engaged by a pawl to allow controlled movement in one direction only.
	2. An incremental change, typically in one direction and irreversible.
verb tr., intr.:	To move or to cause to move in small increments, especially progressively or irreversibly.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French rochet (ratchet). Earliest documented use: 1650.

USAGE:

“Israel accused Iran of trying to ratchet up hostilities.”
Mark Weiss; The State of the State of Israel at 75; The Jerusalem Report (Israel); May 8, 2023.

“I went in search of ways to ratchet down my own worry.”
Jessica Migala; The Upside of Anxiety; O: the Oprah Magazine (New York); Jan 2022.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: