What does hackneyed mean?
Word: Hackneyed
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: used so often that it has become dull and lost its force.
Synonyms: overused
How do you spell hackneyed?
Syllables: hack - neyed
Tricky part: The danger is the ending. The e and y before the final d feel odd side by side, so pupils squeeze them into ied.
Watch out for: hacknied, hackneid
Memory tip: See a pair of tired eyes reading the same old phrase again: the letters of eye sit just where the ending starts.
Hackneyed in a sentence
Example 1: Rahul crossed out every hackneyed phrase in his essay and wrote his own.
Example 2: Our English teacher asks us to replace hackneyed openings such as once upon a time.
Example 3: The advert relied on a hackneyed joke that nobody found funny any more.
Fun Fact
The word is generally traced to a district of London known long ago for horses hired out to all comers. A horse for hire was worked by everybody, and the sense of worn out by use grew from that.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
hackeneyed
a) k
b) e
c) y
d) n
Show answer
b) e. Say it aloud: there are only two syllables, so nothing can come between the k and the n.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose it:
The speech was packed with ndeeayckh phrases that the audience had heard a hundred times.
a) harnessed
b) hackneyed
c) honeyed
d) hardened
Show answer
b) hackneyed. The k in the scramble rules out the other three at once.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word hackneyed as used in the sentence:
The film critic complained that the plot of the sequel was hackneyed from start to finish.
a) predictable
b) trite
c) original
d) stale
Show answer
c) original. A plot nobody has seen before stands at the other end from this one.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. hackneyed 2. repititive 3. platittude 4. tedius
a) saying the same thing again and again
b) a remark said so often it means nothing
c) long, slow and boring to sit through
d) worn out through too much repetition
Show answer
d) worn out through too much repetition. Repetitive has an e after the p, tedious has an o before the u, and platitude keeps a single t in the middle.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An editor writes hackneyed beside a line in your story. What should you do next?
a) move the line to a new page
b) shorten the line by a few words
c) check the spelling of each word
d) find a newer way to say it
Show answer
d) find a newer way to say it
2. Which of these is best described as hackneyed?
a) a title no author has used yet
b) a poem in a newly made-up form
c) the simile as cool as a cucumber
d) a joke nobody has heard before
Show answer
c) the simile as cool as a cucumber
