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

Once a cultural touchstone, late-night television has seen its prominence erode greatly over the years with viewers and advertising dollars shifting away from broadcast TV to streaming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

“They make me feel less alone,” says Grace, and she and Susanna can both quote from Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” a cherished touchstone of every sensitive adolescent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

The frontman says that in recent years he’d “tried to get away from using the word ‘heart’ because that had been a touchstone for so many of our early records.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Do certain events in our lives leave a permanent mark, freezing a piece of us in time, and that becomes a touchstone that we measure the rest of our lives against?

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

“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

CNN inexplicably settles for photos over video way too often and races through so many touchstones that the series often lacks sports context.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Eventually you’ll have the pleasure of reminding new colleagues that their pop-culture touchstones were cribbed from your youth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 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