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Word of the Day: Gimmick
Gimmicks are everywhere these days and have been everywhere for a very long time.
A Gimmick is a small thing of little value which attracts people’s attention. The purpose of a gimmick is often to get you to buy something.
A gimmick can be anything from a small toy inside a cereal box to a free eBook download for signing up for a website’s newsletter.
The ‘strong man’ is a fun but gimmicky attraction in today’s accompanying picture.
In the old days, people would buy tickets to see the ‘strong man’ perform feats of strength.
Of course, the ‘strong man’ was often just an average guy, and the things he lifted, such as the barbells in the picture, were not even real.
How about that curly moustache, though? That alone is worth the price of admission.
He was just a gimmicky attraction to get you to purchase a ticket, just like the toy in a modern box of cereal or the free eBook you get when you sign up for a website’s newsletter.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 71.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.