If you can define "logophilia" without the aid of a dictionary, then you are probably a lover of words. One of the cardinal rules of writing is "Don't use big words when small ones will do." But who can resist words like: perspicacity, lugubrious, pontificate, verisimilitude and the like? There is joy in letting such words roll off your tongue, and a guilty pleasure in the bewildered stares that often follow.
The exercise for today is to use your favorite scholarly word (or words) in a sentence (or sentences) in the comment section. Don't give us a definition though. Let us try to work it out from the context.
My current new favorite:
"...complaints of anonymous letters...all of which, through the perspicacity of the Police, turned out to have been written by himself to himself for the purpose of attracting notoriety."
Of course, I can't get away with using words like perspicacity without sounding precocious. That was Kipling.
So, what are your favorites?
Showing posts with label Logophilia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Logophilia. Show all posts
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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