Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Difference between revisions

Occasionally such characters may drop the long words if things get particularly dire, to emphasize just how bad things are (in the same way as a [[Sarcasm Failure]]). Alternatively, they may get even ''more'' wordy as they get more emotional, leading to increasingly detailed but ultimately incoherent ranting that falls too easily into [[Wangst]]. Frequently another character will respond with something like "Wouldn't it be easier to just [whatever the brainy person said, in layman's terms]?" or "And [layman's terms version], too!"

 

 

One of the symptoms of [[Spock Speak]]. Usually also a [[Motor Mouth]]. Often takes advantage of the fact that [[Talking Is a Free Action]]. See also [[Techno Babble]], [[Expospeak Gag]], [[Antiquated Linguistics]], [[Sophisticated As Hell]], and [[Department of Redundancy Department]]. If someone tries for this and can't get the words right, they're perpetrating [[Delusions of Eloquence]]. If the ''author'' commits this, see [[Purple Prose]]. The word [[Antidisestablishmentarianism]] is almost guaranteed to show up as well.

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Double Star]]'', the protagonist calls out this tendency as bad speechwriting.

{{quote|Now take this word 'intransigent,' which you have used twice. I might say that, but I have a weakness for polysyllables; I like to exhibit my literary erudition. But Mr. Bonforte would say 'stubborn' or 'mulish' or 'pigheaded.' The reason he would is, naturally, that they convey emotion much more effectively.}}

* Use to the point of tediousness in the [[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]] series, where the narrator describes everything to death, repeats the description using synonyms, and never gets to the point without [[Viewers Are Goldfish|referring all over again to the things she's already described.]]

* In [[Gene Stratton Porter]]'s ''A Daughter of the Land'', Agatha.

** For [[Rule of Funny|obvious reasons]] Vaarsuvius is an exception to the usual [[Talking Is a Free Action]] rule.

*** But even then, no matter how long-winded [[Viewer Gender Confusion|he/she]] gets, it's still only a standard action at worst, comparable to casting a spell. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0010.html Observe.]

* The [[Slice of Life]] webcomic ''[[Typographical Acknowledgment]]'' uses this infrequently, most prominently in the title. It is more however a comment on teenagers' overuse of [[Purple Prose]] in any written work of theirs. Naturally, it is written by a teenager who overuses Purple Prose in any written work of his.

* ''[[Penny Arcade]]'''s Tycho, both the author and the in-comic persona, likes to do this, as does his niece Ann (AKA Annarchy).

* In the [[Rankin Bass]] special ''[[Twas the Night Before Christmas]]'', the Mayor parodies this. Whenever he wants to sound important, he attempts this, then gives up partway through.

{{quote|"Of all the perfidious purveyors of chicanery I have ever had the misfortune to... oh, heck. Go home!"}}