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push-pin

Games
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Push-pin is a simple children's game involving the pushing of pins on a surface, sometimes used metaphorically for trivial pursuits.

Detailed Definition
Push-pin appears in poetry as an emblem of idle or childish occupation and the small stakes of minor contests. In literary contexts it represents the insignificant game. Poets invoke push-pin to illustrate themes of wasted time, the elevation of the trivial, and the contrast between serious concerns and the push of pins in the play of the young or the frivolous.
Example
Example in poetry:
Push-pin’s small stakes and idle motion appear in poems of trivial and time-killing play; Traditional verse uses the game for the occupations that consume without consequence; “They played push-pin while the greater game of the world went on” illustrates misplaced focus; Educational examples present the sport as the emblem of insignificant contest; Poets invoke push-pin when the energy of play must be shown as wasted or merely habitual.
Additional Notes
Push-pin’s small stakes and idle motion have long supplied poets with an emblem of trivial and time-killing play. The game’s metaphorical life as a figure for insignificant occupation is often stronger than its literal one. Teachers may explore how the language of the nursery migrates into moral or aesthetic judgment. Related idle games include the various forms of the pin game. The image works best when energy must be shown as wasted or merely habitual.
Also Known As
tack pin fastener
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