Breaking News
Ogun workers suspend strike after four days
Akeem Lasisi
Kindly share this story:
Funfair and fanfare are homophones but they are hardly synonyms. Homophones are two or more words pronounced the same way but with different meanings or spellings. Examples are insight and incite; clime and climb; as well as sore and saw. On the other hand, a synonym is a word or phrase that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase. In this regard, shout, yell, cry, groan and moan are synonyms.
The implication is that in spite of the similarity in the pronunciations of fanfare and funfair, they should not be interchangeably used. Unfortunately, this happens a lot, with experience showing that, often, funfair is erroneously used where fanfare is expected.
Consider these questions:
The party unveiled its manifesto with funfair/fanfare.
I doubt if the musician deserved the funfair/fanfare he got after arriving late at the party.
The pupils jumped from one machine to the other at the centre, while many of them also played different games. It was, indeed, a memorable funfair/fanfare.
Funfair
Funfair is a place of outside entertainment where there are machines for riding on and games that can be played for prizes. While that is the Cambridge Dictionary’s definition, Longman calls it a loud outdoor event where you can ride on machines, play games to win prizes. The word can thus refer to a place where the specific activity takes place and an instance of the event itself. In other words, to have a funfair, there should be objects (like machines and other devices) and usually the act of using them for relaxation. Funfair, therefore, has more to do with recreation, entertainment and games centres.
Fanfare
When you have a loud piece of music played on brass instruments, often to announce something important, then you have a fanfare.
The celebrator’s speech was heralded by a fanfare.
The fanfare signalled the commencement of the awards presentation.
The word can, however, also mean ‘a great attention to and interest in something’:
Last year, even President Buhari accorded Tobi Amusan fanfare for winning World Championships 100 m in hurdles.
In both cases of ‘fanfare’, it is clear that there is no question of people playing games or riding any machines, which are what funfair entails. So, fanfare and funfair should not be mixed up. This takes us back to the introductory questions where ‘funfair’ is relevant in only the third one:
The party unveiled its manifesto with FANFARE.
I doubt if the musician deserved the fanfare he got after arriving late at the party.
The pupils jumped from one machine to the other at the centre, while many of them also played different games. It was, indeed, a memorable FUNFAIR.
Kindly share this story:
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
No More ‘Shebi’ and ‘But I wan’ Play the US Powerball Jackpot and win big with $536,000,000. 🤩 Your dreams go dey reality today. Play now! 🚀
punchng.com © 1971- 2023 Punch Nigeria Limited