Memory Tricks: Minatory
Minatory means “menacing or threatening.” Bullies are minatory. An approaching tornado could be minatory. You know what else is minatory? The Minotaur!
Abridged from Wikipedia:
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur, as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, “part man and part bull”. He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built to hold the Minotaur. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.
It turns out that minatory and Minotaur don’t actually share a common root (minatory shares a root with menace and Minotaur comes from Minos, king of Crete, and tauros, “bull.”)
But, if it helps us remember that minatory means threatening, then I think it’s a pretty helpful association. I mean, look at this:
Really minatory!