The Machine Shop

Eight words for the shop floor, where parts come together and jobs get done.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 equipment noun
2. 2 machine noun
3. 3 assemble verb
4. 4 replace verb
5. 5 various adjective
6. 6 coarse adjective
7. 7 clumsily adverb
8. 8 deliberately adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Equipment. A noun, and I file it under all the tools and gear a job requires. A camp needs equipment, a kitchen needs equipment, and this shop is full of it: wrenches, drills, and safety goggles. Notice that equipment does not count off one by one; you do not say two equipments. It is one word that holds the whole pile at once. Look at the end of it, the part -ment; that little ending turns the action equip into the gear you equip yourself with. State it precisely: equipment is everything the job needs to get done.

The workers loaded their equipment onto the truck before the sun came up.

Nelson's word

noun

Machine. A noun, and I file it under any device built from parts that work together to do a job. A washing machine cleans your clothes, a vending machine hands you a snack, and a printing machine stamps out page after page. The trick of a machine is teamwork: gears, belts, and switches, each doing its share so the whole thing runs. When you read that a machine broke down, picture one small part failing and stopping all the rest. State it precisely: a machine is many parts, one job.

The old machine hummed and stamped a fresh coin every second.

Vinny's word

verb

Assemble! To take a pile of loose parts and put them TOGETHER into one working whole! When the workers assemble the engine, they start with a scatter of bolts and gears and end with a machine that roars to life. That is the verb, that is mine, and there is glory in it, because a hero builds. Do not confuse assemble with a lucky guess; you follow the plan, part by part, until it all fits. Put the pieces together the right way, and the thing you built will stand.

The workers assemble the engine one bolt at a time.

Vinny's word

verb

Replace! To pull out the old, worn part and put a shiny new one right in its place! When the mechanics replace the belt, the tired belt comes off and a fresh one goes on, and the machine runs like new. That is the verb, and it is mine. Hear the front of it, re-place; re- means again, and place means to set down, so to replace is to place again, only better. A hero does not throw the whole machine away for one bad part. A hero replaces the part and saves the day.

The mechanics replace the worn belt before it snaps for good.

Jake's word

adjective

Various. Oh, I love a word that opens a whole drawer, and this is mine. As an adjective, various describes a group made of several different kinds. Various tools, various colors, various sizes: not one, not two, but a whole handful of different sorts. Its Smile is assorted, another word for a mix of kinds. Could we be more specific than saying there were a lot of screwdrivers? We could say there were various screwdrivers, which tells the reader they were not all the same. Same picture, sharper edges. Magnifique.

The toolbox held various screwdrivers, each a different size.

Jake's word

adjective

Coarse. An adjective, and mine, describing a thing that is rough to the touch, not smooth and not fine. Coarse sandpaper, coarse rope, a coarse wool blanket: run your hand over any of them and you feel the roughness at once. Its Frown is smooth, the thing your hand glides right across. Careful with the spelling, because coarse with an a is rough to the touch, while course with no a is a path or a class. Could we be more specific than saying the cloth felt bad? We could say it felt coarse, and the reader feels it too.

The coarse sandpaper scraped the rust off the old hinge.

Benny's word

adverb

Clumsily. This one is an adverb, and it is mine, the way a word can tell you HOW a thing gets done. When someone works clumsily, they fumble and bump and drop, all elbows and no aim. Hear the -ly on the end? That little ending is your signal that a word is describing an action: he stacked the boxes clumsily, and down they came. Now here is your challenge, because you can always work sharper than clumsy. The opposite of clumsily is carefully, and carefully is where good work lives. Learn clumsily so you can spot it, then leave it behind.

He clumsily knocked three bolts off the bench while reaching for the wrench.

Benny's word

adverb

Deliberately. An adverb, and a fine one, and it is mine. When you do a thing deliberately, you do it slowly, carefully, and completely on purpose, no rushing and no accidents. She deliberately lined up each part before she started, and that is why it fit. Hear the -ly again, telling you this word describes how the work was done. This is the good stuff, the kind of care I coach you toward. Its opposite is clumsily, the fumbling rush. Work deliberately, and your reader trusts every move you make.

She deliberately tightened each screw, checking every one twice.