shibboleth
shibboleths
A shibboleth is like a motto or catchphrase that members of a group tend to say, like the conservative shibboleth that the only good government is a small government.
Shibboleth is a Hebrew word that means "ear of corn" or "flood." In a Biblical story, the word was used as a password — a means to figure out who was part of your group and who wasn't. It still has that sense of identifying someone as a member of a group. Sometimes it also means "platitude" or "truism," a phrase that is so common everyone thinks it's true, like "crime doesn't pay," or "better late than never."
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a favorite saying of a sect or political group
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types:
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catch phrase, catchphrase
a phrase that has become a catchword
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mantra
a commonly repeated word or phrase
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battle cry, cry, rallying cry, war cry, watchword
a slogan used to rally support for a cause
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type of:
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expression, locution, saying
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
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catch phrase, catchphrase
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a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people
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type of:
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delivery, manner of speaking, speech
your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally
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delivery, manner of speaking, speech
You Say To-MAH-to: Everyday Shibboleths
Vocabulary lists containing shibboleth
In the early 20th century, a young Englishwoman travels through Italy. Read the full text here.
Layla Amin thinks of herself as a typical American teenager. But when Muslim-Americans like Layla and her family are forcibly relocated to internment camps, the seventeen-year-old decides to fight for her freedom.
In this acclaimed memoir, Tara Westover recounts growing up in the remote mountains of Idaho with her survivalist parents.
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