broach

To broach a subject means to bring it up for discussion—often something delicate or uncomfortable. Think of it like carefully testing the waters before diving in. It can also mean to physically pierce or open something, though this usage is less common today. You might broach a difficult topic with a friend, but you wouldn't usually broach a wall unless you were using a specialist tool. Historically, "to broach" meant to tap a cask of beer or wine, opening it for the first time to let the liquid flow.

Imagine you're at a family dinner and there's an "elephant in the room"—a sensitive topic everyone is avoiding. To broach that subject means to cautiously bring it up, initiating a conversation about it. The word comes from an Old French term meaning "to pierce" or "to prick," which gives you a sense of carefully "piercing" into a difficult or sealed-off area. While we don't use spear-like tools to do that in real life, the metaphorical idea remains: broaching something requires a degree of courage and tact.

Originally, broach referred specifically to tapping a cask (a large barrel) to draw out its contents. This older meaning is where the sense of "introducing" or "opening up" comes from. You might still read about someone "broaching a cask of wine" in historical fiction or specialized culinary contexts.

Today, we mostly use broach to mean raising a topic, question, or issue for discussion. For example: "She hesitated, then decided to broach the subject of his spending habits." Or, "He carefully broached the possibility of a merger with the other company." The word implies a deliberate and often cautious approach to starting a dialogue.

Less commonly, broach can still be used in technical or nautical contexts. In sailing, a ship broaches when it veers dangerously off course and turns its side to the wind and waves. In metalworking, to broach means to use a specialized tool to enlarge or shape a hole. However, when you hear "to broach" in everyday speech, it is almost always about opening up a conversation!