touchstone

"The Moon is a kind of touchstone for us - and an important conceptual stepping stone on our way to Mercury."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

She, like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith who came before her, remains an enduring touchstone of black musical culture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

For color, Tiernan referenced early hand-tinting of black and white, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Technicolor masterpiece “The Red Shoes” and Alfred Hitchcock’s dreamlike “Vertigo,” which was his touchstone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

The film, which also featured Brad Pitt in his first major film role, was a critical and popular success while also becoming a feminist touchstone.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

The plane crash became a touchstone in Elizebeth’s life, a marker she came back to again and again.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

“Widow’s Bay,” leaning into comedy, goes old school, conjuring familiar spectres that knowingly nod to “Jaws,” “Psycho,” the canonical works of King and John Carpenter, and other touchstones of cultural anxiety.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Here’s a trip through the cinematic touchstones as acted out by the Minions—who have become classic figures themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

And just always having that through line of, “What were the touchstones of Carolyn as a young woman, and where did I want her to end up physically?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

And of course, Bad Bunny is hugely popular across the United States, which has among the largest Spanish-speaking populations globally -- so why wouldn't he take part in one of the country's cultural touchstones?

From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026

They were the codes and touchstones of the world, capable of translation and possession.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison