Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GRANDILOQUENCE

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explore the archives: Grandiloquence defines itself: we know that "grand" means "big or fancy," and we recognize "loqu" from words like "eloquence" (powerful speech) and "loquacious" (talking a lot) and "circumlocutory" (talking around and around the point instead of being straightforward). Plainly speaking, then, grandiloquence is "fancy talk." As funny as it is that we have such a fancy word meaning "the use of fancy words," I find it even funnier that we have  _______tian, a big word meaning "small." Could you recall it? make your point with... "GRANDILOQUENCE" Grandiloquence is an overly fancy way of talking or writing. Pronunciation: gran DILL uh kwints Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "education," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of education," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many educations." Likewise, talk about "the grandiloquence," "such grandiloquence," "his grandiloquence," "no grandiloquence," and so on, but don’t say "grandiloquences.") Other forms: grandiloquent, grandiloquently How to use it: When you talk about someone's grandiloquence, or the grandiloquence of someone, or the grandiloquence of someone's speech or writing, you're usually complaining: pointing out the extravagant or pompous way that someone is using fancy words, phrases, sentence structures, figures of speech, historical and literary allusions, and so on. So although you might occasionally be neutral or complimentary when you point out someone's grandiloquence--we all admire King's grandiloquence in his "I Have a Dream" speech, for example--you're usually being critical with this word, because the grandiloquent speaker or writer usually cares more about the lofty beauty of how she says something than what she's actually saying. examples: There's so much pomp and grandiloquence in the narration; I constantly imagine the author wearing a top hat and a monocle. Though he's a perfectly natural speaker, when he sits down to write a paper for school, he produces one grandiloquent paragraph after another, none of which say much of anything. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "grandiloquence" means when you can explain it without saying "highfalutin language" or "puffed-up style of speech." try it out: Think of a phrase or a quote that says something simple in a fancy or beautiful way. Fill in the blanks: "'Phrase or quote.' Strip away the grandiloquence, and it's just saying '_____.'" Example: "'Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.' Strip away the grandiloquence, and it's just saying 'If you quit loving her when she changes, then you didn't really love her anyway.'" before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing with rhyming puzzles as we review previous words.  Examples: Someone who belts out songs in church with great gusto has ____ ___. Answer: hymn vim. And the barbecue place where you always meet up with your friends from Dallas and Houston is your _____ _____. Answer: Texas nexus. The puzzles, and their answers, will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. Click or mouse-over the link to the clue if you need it, and see each answer the following day. Enjoy! From yesterday: Your deep orange-red piece of citrus fruit was supposed to be your snack this afternoon, but it's grown a mane of mold and now looks startlingly like the head of a lion. It's a _______ __________ (Two words: three syllables each. Clue: use this word.) Answer: leonine clementine. Try this today: Her entire outfit is lovely, but the finishing touch, the piece that's loveliest of all, is a coat embellished with intricate embroidery. That garment is the ____ ____ _____ ____ (Four words of one syllable each. Clue: use this phrase.) review today's word: 1. One opposite of GRANDILOQUENT is A. AMORAL B. INFORMAL C. UNFORGETTABLE 2.  The poem opens grandiloquently: "_____." A. annie died the other day B. I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox C. Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory— Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C