I’ll admit it—I’m a
self-proclaimed, autodiactic, word freak. Since the moment the first mellifluous
word burst from my adolescent mouth, I was hooked.
From then on, the words just
kept getting bigger and better. Big
words grew to brobdignagian proportions with the help of my word-of-the
day e-mails and dictionary.com’s
wonderful vast expanse of words for me to peruse. For me, big words were ubiquitous.
As a normally garrulous
person, I felt inclined to expand my vocabulary in any way possible to be more
than just the usual argot. Then,
as if it fell from above in the form of an afflatus, I stumbled upon my
favorite word of all time.
Infundibuliform.
Now, just take a closer look
at that word and go ahead, try and tell me it’s not amazing. Even those who have absolutely no clue what
this word means can take joy in its obvious thaumaturgy. It simply rolls off the tongue in an obvious
effort to make you feel passionate about any infundibuliform, or funnel-shaped,
object.
To avoid exacerbating
you further, maybe I should mention now that there is a brief glossary of terms
directly following this article, although through ratiocination you
should have realized by now that the underlined words are defined below.
I hope I’m not causing you travail,
because my excessive babbling on this subject can tend to be supererogatory. Please forgive me. I’ll try to be brief in my verbiage.
My point is this: explore
the myriad of options this wonderful language has to offer. A large vocabulary can be a great asset in
both sardonic and professional conversations—if, of course, you don’t
make a fool of yourself by not knowing how to pronounce the word. An extensive vocabulary can make you seem unctuous
in even the most awkward of situations.
So learn to live a
little! Take a walk on the wild side of
the English language. Overcome your Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia,
and your life will be brighter because of it.
Glossary of Terms:
Afflatus: n. Divine
inspiration.
Argot: n. A characteristic language of a particular group
(as among thieves).
Autodidactic: adj.
Self-taught.
Brobdignagian: adj.
Colossal; of extraordinary height; gigantic.
Exacerbate:
v. To irritate; to exasperate
Garrulous
: adj. Given to excessive and often
trivial or
rambling talk; tiresomely talkative.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: n. Fear of large words.
Infundibuliform: adj. Having
the shape of a funnel.
Mellifluous: adj. Flowing sweetly or smoothly.
Ratiocination: n. The process of reasoning.
Sardonic: adj.
Bitterly sarcastic.
Supererogatory: adj. More
than is needed or required.
Thaumaturgy: n. Magic.
Travail: n. Intense pains; agony; anguish.
Ubiquitous: adj. Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same
time; omnipresent.
Unctuous: adj. Excessively suave.