Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Grandiloquence

Grandiloquence, as far as I know in my humble vocabulary, means to be pompous.  You can say, "There goes a grandiloquent looking elderly person."  Or, "Slap me silly if that don't be a grandiloquent rose bush."  Or, "I could say he's a sesquipedalian, but that's just a grandiloquent way of saying he likes long words." 

Hmm, I just looked up sesquipedalian to make sure I spelled it right, and I learned that its origin is sesquipedalis, which means something measuring a foot and a half.  Ha Ha!  So someone who likes to use long words is someone who uses words a foot and a half long.  Perfect!

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