Word of the Day: March 8, 2023

cahoots

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plural noun | kuh-HOOTS

What It Means

Cahoots is an informal word that is usually used in the phrase “in cahoots” to describe a partnership or alliance for making or implementing secret plans.

// Though five years apart in age, the two siblings are often in cahoots when it comes to making mischief.



Examples

“When a mild-mannered ad man ... is mistaken for a secret agent and finds himself in the crosshairs of a dangerous spy, suspense is a given. Add a romantic entanglement with the epically gorgeous Eva Marie Saint, who might or might not be in cahoots with the spies, and you’ve got [director Alfred] Hitchcock at his tongue-in-cheek best.” — Amy Glynn, Paste Magazine, 16 Nov. 2022


Did You Know?

Cahoots is used almost exclusively in the phrase “in cahoots,” which means “in an alliance or partnership.” In most contexts, cahoots describes the conspiring activity of people up to no good. (There’s also the rare expression “go cahoots,” meaning “to enter into a partnership,” as in “they went cahoots on a new restaurant.”) The word’s origins are obscure, but it may come from the French word cahute, meaning “cabin” or “hut,” suggesting the notion of people hidden away working together in secret. Cahute, in turn, is a modification of the word hutte and is believed to have been influenced by cabane, another word for hut and cabin. If you’re wondering about the singular cahoot (it pops up now and again), it has historically been used in the same way as the plural form but has an even more informal ring to it, as in “I reckon that varmint is in cahoot with the devil himself.”


Larger Vocabulary = More $$

Not enough people realize that it is our ability to use our language that will determine our place on the social pyramid–and that will also control, to a great extent, the amount of money we will earn during our lives. Research has shown over and over that a person’s vocabulary level is the best single predictor of occupational success (more info). Ready to reach the top? Subscribe and receive a new word daily via TXT!


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Facts & Statistics

"A person may dress in the latest fashion and present a very attractive appearance. So far, so good. But the minute he opens his mouth and begins to speak, he proclaims to the world his level on our social pyramid...Our use of our language is the one thing we can't hide."

Earl Nightingale (one of the greatest self-improvement authors of all time) conducted of a 20-year study of college graduates. "Without a single exception, those who had scored highest on the vocabulary test given in college, were in the top income group, while those who had scored the lowest were in the bottom income group."

Another study by scientist Johnson O'Connor, who gave vocabulary tests to executive and supervisory personnel in 39 large manufacturing companies:

Presidents and VPs

236 out of 272

Managers averaged

168 out of a 272

Superintendents averaged

140 out of 272

Foremen averaged

114 out of 272

Floor bosses averaged

86 out of 272

In virtually every case, vocabulary correlated with executive level and income.

In a "Reader's Digest" article titled "Words Can Work Wonders for You", author Blake Clark told a fascinating story of a salesman in his 50s who scored in the bottom 5% of a standardized vocabulary test. He worked himself into the top 45% and became a vice president of the company.

You can reach the top! We may not all be brilliant enough to be the top in our fields, but we can certainly be in the top 5%–including you.

"Let's face it, from the earliest times, the favored class of people has always been the educated class. They can make themselves recognized instantly, anywhere, by the simple expedient of speaking a few words. Our language, more than anything else, determines the extent of our knowledge.

Step out, and make something more of yourself!