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

And Perlis’ storytelling skills make it seem like good fun as he pingpongs from artist to artist, each somehow inventing a meaningful, or at least recognizable, cultural touchstone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The exhibit showcases other Mexican masters, including Kahlo’s husband, Diego Rivera, but the big draw has been Kahlo, whose oeuvre has become a touchstone of feminist and Latin American iconography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Unsurprisingly John Chamberlain’s metal sculptures that captured the energy of Abstract Expressionism in three dimensions are a touchstone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Its Olympian tone made it a perennial touchstone at those political occasions requiring platitudinous wisdom.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

“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

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

Four decades after it flopped in theaters, “Labyrinth” and Bowie’s work in it are now beloved cultural touchstones.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026

Family mottoes, touchstones, prayers of sorts, they boasted of honor and glory, promised loyalty and truth, swore faith and courage.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin