DOWN WITH
BOMBAST!
NOTE: You are responsible for knowing ALL words defined
in this list as well as the prefixes/suffixes and words
defined in the boxes.
banal • terse • raconteur. euphemism • succinct.
hackneyed • bombast. articulate • laconic •
hyperbole. lampoon. platitude
BANAL adj. commonplace and stale, not fresh; trite, insipid
n. banality
Banal, overused phrases and words are so numerous that it's hard to
avoid them. Those of us who work on the Times cut these banalities
from every article, including our own, because banal means boring,
every time.
TERSE adj. stripped of aU but the essentials; concise or
succinct, sometimes to the point of rudeness
When you need encouragement, a terse response is disappointing. For
instance, that small, terse "B" on my history paper seemed like a stingy
answer to my weeks of research.
RACONI'EUR n. gifted talker or storyteUer
My English lit class read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar
Wilde, a talented playwright, poet, and raconteur who, because he was
so amusing, was an extremely popular guest. Wilde died in poverty in
Paris; when a friend offered him champagne on his deathbed, Wilde
remarked, "I am dying beyond my means."
EUPHEMISM n. the use of a "nice" word or phrase instead of
an offensive or terrible honest one; the word or phrase so used
My last editorial was on the euphemism "ethnic cleansing," a phrase
used to disguise the murders in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda. I enjoy
some common euphemisms, such as "precocious" (spoiled brat) or
"made redundant" ("fired" in Britain), but using a euphemism to cloak
genOcide is revolting.
23
24
SAT WORD FLASH
VOC!VOK
=
to call
vociferous--loud(y, persistent(y vocal; clamorous
the vociferous wail of a hungry baby
a vociferous message
equivocal----open to two interpretations, evasive, unclear
a puzzling, equivocal answer
an equivocal, uneasy reply
Also: provoke, provocative, vocal, equivocate, evoke, evocative,
invoke,invocation,revoke
SUCCINCT adj. brief, to the point; concise, pithy, terse Some critics favor the taut, succinct writing style of Hemingway or Cather. I enjoy a more colloquial style, like Mark Twain's in Hucklebeny Finn. For the school paper, of course, we demand succinct, pithy articles. HACKNEYED adj. banal, overused, commonplace, trite The hackney was a breed of horse used to pull the old public coaches in England. From their regular, boring routine came the words hackneyed and hack. BOMBAST n. high-flown, pompous, "windbag" language The windy, bombastic mayor of our town likes to give speeches. Whenever he comes to school, this Bard of Bombast yaks away, one empty paragraph after another. LOC/WQU/LOG/OLOGY
=
speech, study, word, talk
eloquent--extremeo/ expressive (a gesture or words)
a moving, eloquent speech
the eloquent bowing of his head
loquacious--extreme(y talkative; gabby, garrulous
a loquacious parrot
the loquaciousness born of loneliness
Also: elocution, soliloquy, colloquial, prologue, epilogue, tautology
(redundancy), eulogy, psychology, biology
DOWN WITH BOMBAST!
25 ARTICUlATE v. to speak in a clear, effective way adj. clear and
effective in manner,' also, jointed or marked off (as "the beetle's
articulated segments")
Amy practices a lot, trying to articulate her lines perfectly. I admit that
she's a really articulate perfonner, but life with an actress is hard to take.
LACONIC adj. using as few words as possible; concise
The old Greek Spartans from the area Laconia were big-deed-doers, not
talkers, and came to be known as laconic folk. The most laconic
communication I've heard was between Victor Hugo, author of Les
Miserables, and his publisher. Mter the book came out, Hugo wrote: ?
His publisher replied: !
HYPERBOLE n. wild exaggeration, often on purpose for effect
Reading Twain is fun, partly because he uses hyperbole so well. So does
the cast on Saturday Night Live. The crazy exaggeration of hyperbole is
probably as much fun for the actors as it is for their audience.
LAMPOON n. verbal ridicule of a person; personal satire v. to
ridicule
The cast of Saturday Night Live loves to lampoon political figures,
especially the president. They let their lampooning go as far as TV
standards will allow.
PLATITUDE n. a tired, trite old saying; a banaUty
Remember our bombastic mayor? Well, one reason he's so boring is that
he just mouths platitudes, like all windbags, and everybody's tired of
hearing the same old sayings. Platitudes put people to sleep.
MIMORYFIX
To learn these new words, write each one on a sheet of paper. Also write
a synonym or definition for each and say the new words aloud as you
work.
mUI OR FALSI
Read each sentence below to see how each word in this chapter is being
used. Then mark T (true) or F (false) beside each.
1. You wouldn't enjoy a raconteur at your party. _ _ __
2. We have many euphemisms for the word "died." _ _ __
DOWN WITH BOMBASTI
_ _ _ 10. laconic
;. sparing of speech
_ _ _ 11. hyperbole
k. to arouse or spark
_ _ _ 12. equivocal
1. insistent and loud
27 FILL IN IHI BLANKS
From the words in this chapter, select the ones that best complete the
meaning and logic of each sentence.
1. An editor who complains that your book lacks originality is saying
that it is
and h,_________
2. Five words that refer to the extremely economical use of language
are c,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, s_ _ _ _ _ _ __
l~
_ _ _ _ _ __
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, and
~
p--------­
3. "Mile-high pie" is an example of _ _ _ _ _ _ __
4. A p _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is stale and overused, a trite remark,
just like a b _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
5. The opposite of a clearcut answer is a(n) _ _ _ _ _ _ __ one. Answers for this chapter begin on page 197.