Grammar Punk Blog

neo·lith·ic

Pronunciation: \ˌnē-ə-ˈli-thik\

Function: adjective

Date: 1865

1 capitalized : of or relating to the latest period of the Stone Age characterized by polished stone implements
2 : belonging to an earlier age and now outmoded

Old and new in the same word, you gotta know I’d love this one. And since I’ve been harping on prefixes, let’s look at neo. For those of you fond of The Matrix (and who isn’t?!) my mind leaps to Keanu in black, dodging bullets and saving the universe. For the rest of you, neo means “new” or as in Neolithic, the latest. The latest part of the Stone Age. Cool word any way you look at it.

And like all cool words it can also make a good insult, a stylish way of telling someone their old and stodgy and out of touch. So the next time your Great Aunt Estelle sends you an crocheted toilet paper cover you can tell her you love it, even if it is a tad Neolithic. That should put her crochet needle back in the hall closet where it belongs.

Give it a try. Share your sentence with us. Make sure it contains 4 words with the letters T and I, a semicolon, a pronoun and the word Neolithic.

Grammar Punk Sentence: T I 4 ; Pronoun

Chantal refused to apologize for the Neolithic state of her wardrobe; she loved the sixties and knew it was merely a matter of time before the items were back in style.