Get your bombast on

January 9, 2006 7:59 AM

Grandiloquent Dictionary For all the logophiles. Not intended for those afflicted with ultracrepidarianism or logorrhea.
posted by caddis (23 comments total)

The dringle in me thanks you caddis!
posted by ceri richard at 8:03 AM on January 9, 2006

Oops. I forgot to include "(via Fawn Jotters)."
posted by caddis at 8:07 AM on January 9, 2006

I am going spend the rest of the week trying to work deiparous into a conversation.
posted by GuyZero at 8:09 AM on January 9, 2006

Cute list, but it would be much improved if they dropped the obvious phobias. Pyrophobia and meteorophobia aren't terribly interesting words.
posted by I Love Tacos at 8:24 AM on January 9, 2006

A truly eximious post, caddis.
posted by JeffK at 8:30 AM on January 9, 2006

This is great, I've been meaning to cut back on my abligurition, but only now do I know the word for it!
posted by Citizen Premier at 8:31 AM on January 9, 2006

Cute list, but it would be much improved if they dropped the obvious phobias. Pyrophobia and meteorophobia aren't terribly interesting words.

But surely you're interested in aichmorhabdophobia: fear of being beaten with a pointed stick?
posted by Citizen Premier at 8:36 AM on January 9, 2006

A jumentous post! Thanks, caddis.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:41 AM on January 9, 2006

It's fun, but it would be nice if you could trust the definitions.

agraffe - The wire that holds the cork in a bottle of champagne

Um, no, an agraffe is (per the OED) 'A kind of hook, which fastens to a ring, used as a clasp' (OED) or (per Merriam-Webster, which prefers the spelling agrafe) 'a hook-and-loop fastening; especially : an ornamental clasp used on armor or costumes.' A cork wire may be a kind of agraf(f)e, but to give that as the definition is just plain wrong.
posted by languagehat at 9:02 AM on January 9, 2006

Reads like a Lovecraft book.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:36 AM on January 9, 2006

agraffe aka a staple (in french).
posted by blue_beetle at 9:52 AM on January 9, 2006

Well, who doesn't have aichmorhabdophobia?
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:55 AM on January 9, 2006

Hmmm, I wonder if my fear of being poked in the eye by an oversized golf umbrella while walking in New York is a form of aichmorhabdophobia.
posted by R. Mutt at 10:14 AM on January 9, 2006

adoxography -( )
Skilled writing about an unimportant subject

The brass ring!
posted by kosem at 11:03 AM on January 9, 2006

If anyone can find "strikhedonia" anywhere other than on the internet (personal web pages, etc.), I'd like to hear about it. Seriously.
posted by words1 at 11:17 AM on January 9, 2006

Really. Strikhedonia, strikhedonia, what makes your big head so hard!
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:28 AM on January 9, 2006

You are Memphis Slim and I claim my Caledonian prize.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:31 AM on January 9, 2006

Excellent point, words1. Their entry:

strikhedonia - The pleasure of being able to say to hell with it

My ability to find any backup for this: zero. If they're not going to bother making sure they're listing actual words, this is no better than all those "amusing" fake-word sites. Bah.
posted by languagehat at 11:50 AM on January 9, 2006

What makes a word a word?
posted by phylum sinter at 12:25 PM on January 9, 2006

I just looked in OED online (via my university), hoping to find the etymology of strikhedonia. OED can't find the word. To me, it means that the word doesn't really exist.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 1:25 PM on January 9, 2006

Strikhedonia, strikhedonia, what makes your big head so hard!
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:28 PM EST on January 9 [!]

How do I go about giving prizes again? You deserve one.
posted by mkhall at 1:37 PM on January 9, 2006

Strikhedonia
posted by caddis at 2:24 PM on January 9, 2006

To me, it means that the word doesn't really exist.
Some of these words might seem "questionable" in that they aren't recognized by the verbal authorities, but that doesn't mean you couldn't use them in a story or a letter. Just be sure to provide a definition.
posted by Citizen Premier at 2:34 PM on January 9, 2006