Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FANFARONADE
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pronounce
FANFARONADE:
Dictionaries recognize several ways to say it.
I like "fan fair uh NADE."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
If you're guilty of fanfaronade, you've been tooting your own horn. Or trumpet.
See if you can recall this close synonym of fanfaronade:
Brag____cio is loud, proud, empty boasting or bragging.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
A fanfare is that cheerful little blast, often on trumpets, that announces something. Figuratively speaking, fanfare is also a big fuss or a big to-do.
"Fanfare" came into English through French and may be one of those words that imitates the sound of what it names. (Although I'm inclined to imitate that happy little triumphant blast as "doo doo doo DOO," perhaps the French went "fan fan fan FARRR" instead. Don't quote me on that!)
Also from French, a "fanfaron" is a person who boasts or brags, as if constantly tooting their own horn.
So, fanfaronade is talk or writing that boasts or brags.
And, probably because "fanfaronade" is such a fun-to-say expansion of the word "fanfare," some writers also use it to mean a fanfare: a big fuss, a big to-do, a bunch of talk or excitement about something as if it's a big deal.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun. It can be the countable kind: "We had to listen to ten minutes of their most tiresome fanfaronades"). And the uncountable kind: "We had to listen to ten minutes of fanfaronade before they announced the winners."
Rarely, it's a verb, too. You can fanfaronade things or people, meaning you brag about them in big, bold terms. The other verb forms are "fanfaronaded" and "fanfaronading."
Other forms:
Like with many rare terms that come from other languages, you might see some alternate spellings, like "fanfarronade."
how to use it:
This word is rare, but it's pretty easy for your listeners to figure out what it means. So, when you want a longer, more ridiculous, more attention-grabbing alternative to "boast" or "hype," pick "fanfaronade." (Saying "fanfaronade" is kind of like saying "la-di-da:" you're echoing, and making fun of, whatever boastful display you're talking about.)
Describe people's talk or actions as fanfaronade when it seems to brag and boast and make a big darn deal out of something that really isn't.
examples:
"He damned her ingratitude; She, his fanfarronade."
— Robert Bage, Barham Downs, 1784
"Political blogs may draw fanfaronade; but few sites truly constitute a forum where ideas are calmly and usefully debated."
— Andrew Burnstein and Nancy Isenberg, Salon, 1 November 2015
has this page helped you understand "fanfaronade"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "fanfaronade" without saying "bluster" or "bragging."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is always fanfaronading about (something)."
Example: "He's always fanfaronading about his rich, powerful friends."
As always, feel free to tweak that template. Here's a similar example: "In his heyday Bubba could bench press four hundred pounds, just ask him... Just before you blew him off as a fanfaronading blockhead, Bubba could flick a switch and start conversing about Federal Reserve interest rates, voter registration fraud in the deep South, and Kurt Vonnegut’s great novel, Slaughterhouse-Five."
— John Nichols, The Annual Big Arsenic Fishing Contest!, 2016
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Apt Adjective Anagrams!
I'll invent a person's name and a brief description, and you unscramble the letters in their name to form an adjective that aptly describes the person or the person's situation.
For example: Carl Rebe has three advanced degrees. You rearrange the letters in "Carl Rebe" to form the adjective "cerebral," meaning "brainy, smart, or intellectual.” Sentimental movies always bring Martin Devesto to tears? He’s demonstrative. Lilian Tulip is dainty in the extreme? She’s lilliputian. Tia Fauns runs a sweatshop and is filthy rich? Perhaps she made a bargain with the devil, because her lifestyle is Faustian.
To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Try this one today: Ian Rica is about to propose to a supermodel he's never met. On the Jumbotron.
review this word:
A. MODESTY.
B. DISTURBANCE.
C. LOCALIZATION.
2.
Without a shred of her usual fanfaronade, she said, "_____"
A. Let me show you a fantastic way to do that. I invented it myself.
B. I'd like to be able to help you with that, but it's outside my skill set.
C. If we can keep at this for just a few more hours, I think we can meet the deadline.
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Part of speech:
This word is rare, but it's pretty easy for your listeners to figure out what it means. So, when you want a longer, more ridiculous, more attention-grabbing alternative to "boast" or "hype," pick "fanfaronade." (Saying "fanfaronade" is kind of like saying "la-di-da:" you're echoing, and making fun of, whatever boastful display you're talking about.)
"He damned her ingratitude; She, his fanfarronade."
Explain the meaning of "fanfaronade" without saying "bluster" or "bragging."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is always fanfaronading about (something)."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |