Why would anyone use big words when they could use little words that people understand?

Damn right Pat, it's unconscionable!

Balderdash!

Why have big words if you don't use them?

No More Malarkey!

I know right? So sesquipedalian.

Superfluous.

Antidisestablishmentarianism runs rampant here.

Inconceivable

Yes... universally acknowledged

Yup

Regarding the Covid Jab, floccinaucinihilipilification is the predominant tactic.

I think the use of those big words is really just an attempt at prestidigitation and legerdemain.

Obfuscations too.

I hate it when someone uses a large word when a diminutive one would do.

Malapropisms then abound.

It a really dumb thing to do, unless you're intent is to use it as some sort of code.

Eschew Obfuscation, Espouse Elucidation!

ya!

GWB

Try to get it done in as few words as possible. Beer, sex, food.

Spot on.

It gives some people a feeling of superiority. They tend to be arrogant.

Others were just raised in an academic environment, a leftover from the times and beliefs that an education was a good thing and that it would make your life better.

Now it is used by the first type mentioned to place themselves above the rest of us. Don't speak their lingo? Get away, you unwashed masses.

Big words were meant to be more precise and exacting. I believe the Age of Reason and the Industrial Revolution spurred research into metallurgy and chemistry, and thus education in general. To get your non mathematical ideas across though post of book, you had to use the exactly correct words. It was an scientific and academic arms race into the Age of Imperialism.

All this exactness and precision are useless when trying to get a point across to my wife. It is folly to try.

However, it can be bit of fun.

Do you remember the scene in "Braveheart" when the darling prince's boyfriend was thrown out of the window of the tower to his death?

Did you know there is a word for that?

Defenestration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
For other uses, see Defenestration (disambiguation).

Matthäus Merian's impression of the 1618 Defenestration of Prague
Defenestration (from Modern Latin fenestra[1]), is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.[2] The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. This was done in "good Bohemian style", referring to the defenestration which had occurred in Prague's City Hall almost 200 years earlier (July 1419), which also on that occasion led to the Hussite war.[3] The word comes from the New Latin[4] de- (down from) and fenestra (window or opening).[5

You just trying to piss Kingston off now……

Hhhuuugggg

Some use language to confuse, rather than to inform.

"if ya can't dazzle em' with brilliance, baffle em' with bull."

Affirmative

You're not very cryptographic, are you?

Lol...I did have a fella tell me the other day that "you gotta have tires with good gription on these roads". Hell...even made up words that people can understand are better than bullshit words they can't.

Whats a big word to some, isn't to others.

Not well educated, just a general studies high school (barely) graduate.
But I'm an avid reader, and that's developed a decent vocabulary.

Guys at work?
Most read nothing but the newspaper. Maybe just the sports.

Been told I "use big words".

Not my intentions, not trying to impress or befuddle. Just talking.

Those around you are also a factor.
Professional type people often commented on our young daughters
vocabulary, and speaking skills. Always found that amusing, our kids were
better spoken than many of the...higher class kids. Not my thoughts
but those of others.

I like guns. Nuff Said.

I understand trying to impress the rich folk, but if you are talking to actually say something to someone, why would you use a big word that everyone has to Google later?

There are times and places - and sometimes not.

good gription is a good off the cuff necessity for slimy goings on....

Huh...

🦫

guns, boats fishing poles, pickup trucks.

People that enjoy learning soon realize that most folks embrace the average and simplify their comms around average people. A great communicator can simplify complex thought to influence the proletariat. A learned clear thinker can appreciate both complex and simple language and concepts and apply them appropriately to real life.

When you quit learning you start dying.


mike r

Soil is dirt......

Hate when politicians have to be such lying esofuknteric mofos.

Eh?

Being a flight instructor requires being able to say the same thing several different ways. Hopefully, somehow the switch is flipped and the lightbulb starts glowing. 💡

I like to read stuff that teaches me new words and/or concepts.

Being patted on the head like a baby Robin who needs someone else to partially digest the worm before being fed is insulting.

On the other hand there are folks who use big words for no reason.

I find the many folks I run into these days who use the “f” word every 5 seconds to be more annoying myself.

Most that do are just gasconading.

Well duh...you need to be able to understand everything. It's just stupid to expect other people to . That seems to be the goal sometimes though.

Dem thar .75¢ words are for the highfalutin types. We don't allow dat hogwash round here😁 if'in ya cain't say it clear din don't say it at all!

Maybe because they’re publishing a paper in some peer-reviewed Journal of Education, more long words signifying not much of anything than I’ve ever seen.

Nuanced words that are used properly, will typically enhance the symmetry of the idea being described.

🦫

Thas whu um tockin bowt ^^^^^

Big words sometimes carry more precise information with less effort .. but only to an intelligent / informed listener. If someone is using words that are too big, it is possibly because they have overestimated the intelligence of the person they are talking to. It happens.

Tom

Big words only for teachers and lawyers.

I have heard that referred to as "edubabble" by an educator acquaintance seeking his masters..

ltppowell;
Good evening to you sir, I hope the weekend treated you all fine and all who matter to you are well.

Since it's me and we've conversed enough that you'd expect this, I'll begin with a personal story.

My late father's first language was Plot Deutsch or Low German and he made it to Grade 8 before going to work somewhere else besides the Saskatchewan farm he grew up on.

That said, he encouraged us to read and learn, purchasing a set of "World Book Encyclopedia" for us kids when he really couldn't afford to do so.

As I grew and developed a passion for western history, he began to read the same books as I was and we'd discuss various things that we'd learned about the area or people we'd been reading about.

He used to tell me, "If you're not learning something Dwayne, best look around - as you're likely dead!"

All that to say sir, I read and continue to read a whole lot and have grown to love journeyman level usage of our language.

When I entered the work force, I wasn't the biggest, brightest or fastest ever sir - but - I could articulate what I knew about the subject at hand in such a way that the listener could understand and that ability served me well throughout various jobs.

At one point among my daily tasks were corresponding with medical staff, various government agencies and different professionals. In doing so, I quickly learned that if I communicated in a precise way - sometimes using words specific to that trade and situation - the company I worked for received markedly better results. Startlingly so in fact at times sir.

In summary then, I'd respectfully turn the question around and ask, "Why would anyone not want to expand their vocabulary and learn new words?"

If someone posts a word or phrase I have to look up, I personally think that's a high point as I get to learn something and then I can remember Dad and his favorite phrase for me.

As always sir, there's many roads to Mecca and this was just one Canuck's way of attempting to navigate through life, nothing more.

All the best to you and your fine family.

Dwayne

Yes it’s egregious here.

GOFUCKYOURSELF hows that for big word?

That’s actually 3 words, you retard.

Grins

🦫

PS

No better 3 words ever said here on the Fire...But, I digress.

Not everyone can be a sophistical rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of their own verbosity…

While many here may not have an extensive vocabulary, there’s definitely several gifted with an egotistical imagination that can at all times command an interminable and inconsistent series of arguments to malign an opponent and to glorify themselves…

Yep

Around here I will try not to use big words and speak slow .

By God.

Fixed it...

Ed

Never use aa big word when a diminutive one will do as well.

Because some strive beyond the level of a rap lyricist.

Great to see BC30 and Ed 2 many post again. Hope you all are doing well.

Take care and God bless y'all.

HawkI;
Good evening to you sir, I hope you're well tonight.

Recently I watched a podcast of Prof. Jordan Peterson interviewing Jocko Willink.

When asked about what he took as a university course while in the Seal Teams, he went on for no less than 10 minutes explaining why he took an English degree and the benefits that it gave him and then by extension the men he commanded because of his enhanced ability to communicate in a more effective way.

The entire interview is really pretty good I felt, but I've been impressed by most things I've heard about Jocko Willink so that didn't surprise me.

Anyways, it was an example of what you're saying which came to my mind immediately.

Thanks and all the best.

Dwayne

I say that big talk's worth doodly squat.

You as well, Dwayne.

👍

Reading is key. It’s not all about education, but exposure to the language.

Language is fun. It is entertaining and expressive. Words with similar meaning can communicate different ideas and frame up stories in different ways.



If you’re put off by somebody’s vocabulary, that’s all on you.

Thinking about this, I believe that words can be like clothing. There are some occasions that call for a different set. Sometimes formal, sometimes somber, and sometimes relaxed.

Synonym: The word one uses when he can't spell the other one.

Pat, there you go again. Happy birthday beat you to the 7th decade. And can't wait to see you in March.

Duane from B C summarized it well.

"In summary then, I'd respectfully turn the question around and ask, "Why would anyone not want to expand their vocabulary and learn new words?"

At one point among my daily tasks were corresponding with medical staff, various government agencies and different professionals. In doing so, I quickly learned that if I communicated in a precise way - sometimes using words specific to that trade and situation - the company I worked for received markedly better results. Startlingly so in fact at times sir."

Effective / persuasive conversations begin with an appreciation for the person on the other side of the discussion, including their ability to relate and understand your argument. Think about how we must get across the legitimacy of our love of the outdoors and the shooting sports to those who have no understanding or appreciation for our passion. We each must make clear that we are citizens to be reckoned with, maybe even accepted and appreciated, because we have a legitimate opinion (which they may not yet share) about the way forward.

We should emphasize our values on the meaning of the Constitution, about the God-given rights of the citizens of a free nation and the conservation of our natural resources. We cannot afford to come across as anything less than informed, educated, considerate citizens. The other folks may try to dismiss or restrict our opinions but it should not be because we come across as knuckle-dragging hayseeds who cannot articulate our viewpoint in a logical and crystal clear fashion.

Our future may actually depend on expanding our vocabulary and our ability to communicate in a fashion that "non-believers" can understand. They are legion and believe that what they FEEL is right and everybody else is unwashed, prejudiced commoners who can be ignored, regulated and dominated. If this effort requires a better understanding of our legal system or regulatory jargon or the psychology of career legislators, we can demonstrate our abilities with precise language, clear thinking and persuasive presentation of facts.

The people on the other side of any argument already feel justified in their view. We should make an honest effort to persuade them using facts and history, logic and reason, which often requires exactness and clarity in our language. And fifty-cent words when they are wanting to bulldoze our opinion with legalese and elite privilege.

Then we can tell them to GFY. They should prepare for the undesirable consequences of ignoring educated, experienced, informed and articulate citizens.

Match the word to the occasion and the intended recipient. A well thought out strings of expletives without using any four letter variances is an art form. Many senior drill instructors are verbal Rembrandt's.

Words are superabundant here.

As in the Mormon thread, this thread shows signs of being epic.


Brobdingnagian even.

one more.

Dumbfucktitude. Just an utterly fantastic word with endless meaning..

Well,

who else do you suggest I glorify?

Travis?

Is there a fancy word for using an apostrophe to pluralize?

If not, their, there, they're most assuredly should be. (sometimes I stutter! )

10 letters minimum.

Wait, I do believe to write that correctly it should be "Ten letters minimum."

I seem to recall being instructed (more letters than taught) to always use a written number to start a sentence.

“Edubabble”, fine word, your friend should put it somewhere in his thesis and see if anyone notices.

Well, the good news is education degrees at all levels are easy to do, no slam intended on your friend.

Students entering the ed major have the lowest SAT scores yet still come out of the major with the highest grades.

I think that's the point of the thread.
Something to be avoided, actually.
It's not impressive to those who don't understand.
Just makes the speaker appear to be an axe.

Had a guy at work who would do exactly that.
And it was intentional. He had a list that he worked off of.

Fuck knows.

Come on man, this is the 'Fire!

Surely the word borborygmus would better apply to this crowd!

John

The trick in all this is to keep from baffling your readers.

When I was a youngster, I was one of those weird kids that read the dictionary for fun. My folks bought me a big thick one when I was eight, and I liked reading dictionaries almost as much as watching TV.

When I got to college, I already had a monstrously large vocabulary. I was in a Broadcasting/Journalism program. I got into my first Broadcast Writing course, and the professor went ballistic on us after we turned in our first assignment. A significant segment of the class was barely literate. The prof, our department head, decided to give us the assignment of a) learning 5 new words per week. b) learning to use 5 new words in everyday conversation. For most, it was a major chore. It led to a row that finally caused the departure of the department head. Me? I loved the assignment. I took it to heart. I walked out of that program with a good command of the language.

What I can tell you all is it is not about just using obscure words. The trick is to use them along with other things to add depth and color to your writing without the reader knowing. Just there, I could have used "nuance," but a good number of you would have turned up your nose. Another trick is to throw in a word or two, but do it in such a way that the reader still feels like he is being talked to as an equal. It lifts the reader up. The whole point here is to get ideas across, and the best way to do that is to make the reader feel good about what you are trying to communicate. Big words that don't mean anything to the reader do not make that happen.

About 10 years out of college, I was working at a mutual fund company, running their portfolio management computers. The head of the bond funds called me in one day and gave me a key piece of advice. Bill sat me down and told me that I had one big flaw, and I needed to take care of it before I advanced in business. "You talk over everyone's head," he said. "You talk over my head, and I've been at it 40 years." Everyone knows you are smart, but if they can't understand you, you're not going anywhere. I took that one to heart, and started re-working the way I spoke.

About a decade later, I was talking to a young first shift supervisor. By this time, I had moved to manufacturing. He was leaving the company soon, and we were wishing each other well.

"You're the smartest man I ever knew," he said. "But you always talked to me as an equal. You never talked down to me, and you always made sure I understood." I told the fellow that this was the best thing I ever heard, briefly explaining the mutual fund manager. I knew I'd finally met his challenge.

So what is that huge vocabulary doing for me now? Strap in. I've got a story for you.

I used to work for a very large corporation. I was working at a small property owned by a minor division that was kind of a flea on the tail end of the dog. We got a new divisional president inflicted on us. The first thing he did was throw the whole business into turmoil by reorganizing everything. A year later, our side of the business had tanked. The division had tanked. The whole bloody thing had tanked. The president called for a conference call to huddle up.

He bloviated for a good long while. Most of it was pure hot air, but I kept hearing him use a word, "choiceful." Look it up. He was using it like it was a good thing and threw it out a couple dozen times in the course of an hour.

"We need to be choiceful going forward."
"I have taken this plan to the CEO, and he concurs with our being choiceful. He is being choiceful in this matter as well."
"Our organization is going to be choiceful beyond all other things."

etc.

I am not really sure what he meant by choiceful. I vaguely remembered it, and I was not satisfied until I got back to my desk and looked it up. I asked a few of my peers; they didn't know what he'd been saying either.

choiceful, adj: having an inability to make decisive choices. Syn. dithering.

I concluded:

1) He didn't know what he was talking about.
2) His bosses didn't know either.
3) We were all going down the tubes, because nobody knew what they were doing.
4) This guy's days were numbered, and he was taking us down with him.

In fairly short order, all this came to pass. I had seen it coming all from the overuse and misuse of one word.

COCK

Well said RG. Gnoahhh loaned me the book The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World and it really brought out, among other stuff, the evolution of technical language to describe advancements at the time that were astonishing. We just accept those words today as everyday phrases but were the esoteric language of inventors then.

The book is well worth a read if you have any interest in machining, measuring and how we got where we are today.

I've developed much more appreciation for precision in communication over the last fifteen years due to the necessity of frequent communication with German engineers. They speak English very well, mostly, but it is quite easy to confuse them when too many pronouns or more obscure terms are used.

I think that sometimes there is a perfect word that is not commonly used but in some certain instance is most fitting and completes a thought most succinctly. When done artfully, the meaning becomes perfectly clear by context.

On the other hand, using words that befuddle---no matter who the audience is, is just pointless noise. Captain, in Cool Hand Luke said it best:

"What we have here is a failure to communicate."

Quite a bit of good insight here.

I appreciate this post - very good. But - the part in bold - how do you KNOW this unless you are such a person?

Interesting statement. Kindly post the unimpeachable source for this data or, better yet, the data itself. Thanks.

You’re never gonna make Oracle with word salads like this that take a semester to read.

Just saying.

🦫

burp

Great, now JimfromTN will join in.....

I am a lover of the English language, having studied and written in it all my life. It has led me to be a sesquipedalian who delights in precise but sometimes obscure words. The late and philologically erudite Dr Ken Howell had a treatise called "Use the Right Word" and its point is that there is but one absolutely correct word for every idea being written. Sometimes that word is short and common and sometimes it is polysyllabic and uncommon - but using one in place of the other loses meaning.

So...in answer to the original question, when I write I can use my vocabulary to be a clear as possible, or write to the lowest common denominator among us.

Which would apparently mean writing in grunts and single syllables for some of you.

Lol...the definition of "sesquipedalian" is shorter than the word.

xclnt!


( I like abbreviations too)

(funny, but that words for shortening of words is pretty long in and of itself)

I never would have made it if years ago 'flave hadn't shamed and guilted me into shortening up my posts as he seemed unwilling (unable??) to read more than about 15 words at a time.

This guy does the three little pigs with Shakespearean style. Worth a watch.

John Branyan - The Three Little Pigs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxoUUbMii7Q

Quite good in my view.

Flavors, attention span is based on the amount of time it takes him to inhale BobbyBrownButts cock.

2 seconds.

LOL

🦫

PS

Kick to Punky Brewsters pussy...Laffin

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/education-major-study.pdf

I had been reading an article which included a reference to this study.

If ya need big words to get off, study German; it'll be orgasmic.

Eric, couldn't hep thinking of detective shows where they feel they have to add dialogue between a Detective and an examiner like " Luminal ,as you know. is used to show blood stains and splatter that are invisible to the naked eye" - or other obvious bit of info anyone in that field would have learned well before hand.

As far as the F word over use. I am working on it buddy. You didn't have my Dad as a teacher. :-) Wish I was a cleaner talker and less reactionary responder. Work in progress.

What Rocky elucidated.

I play with water a bit and find big words useful. If you bitch slap a lay audience with a few at the start they are unlikely to ask idiotic questions. EX: hydrogeology, transmissivity, micrograms, BS, MS, PHD.

Thanks Rocky. Well said. Also the ones who try to use the F word as much as possible render it meaningless. Be Well, RZ.

A trio of sightless rodents
A trio of sightless rodents.
Perceive the unusual manner in which the proceed to scamper about.
They all give chase to the agriculturalist's spouse
Who proceeded to sever their appendages with a carving utensil.
In all your natural born days of existence did you ever perceive such an unusual phenomena as a trio of sightless rodents?

Three cheers for the Shootist!

It's all about attempting to communicate.

Being human, our individual personalities come into play, making the conversation difficult or even impossible to understand.

From the speaker's perspective, some who are considerate, actually begin by listening to or already knowing, the level of the intended recipient(s) and adjusting their vocabulary so as to not confuse or embarrass the listener(s) while successfully conveying information.

Others, as pointed out earlier, intentionally speak at another level in order to impress, browbeat, or just plain annoy others. For these folks the technical term "ass-hat" applies.

I've always been taught that words matter. Words have power to create, convey, damage, or even destroy. I've always tried to be as precise as possible when I speak or write for I despise miscommunication. Life seems a whole lot easier when I can accurately communicate with people.

One of my favorite quotes is; "The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has actually taken place." George Bernard Shaw

Ed

This has been an interesting thread - thanks. It has stirred some thinking here.

I have never considered the term "education' to be a noun - all verb. The development of an expansive and diverse vocabulary is important to some people as they educate themselves. They see vocabulary as a tool for learning and for precise outgoing communication. Apparently, vocabulary is less important to others - and much less important to some.

We see the criticism of those who use "big words" - and statements that those are needless, or used for egotistical reasons, etc., etc.. . Such views are natural expressions of human nature.

Some aphorisms seem to apply: "The ignorant tend to hate that which they do not understand". "Communication is a two way street" (traffic problem if the receiving party can't grasp the sender's terms). "You think you are better than me because you use those big words" (this is the mind reader). Etc.

Some folks choose to use a Mercedes, others a Porsche, others a Cadillac, others a Ford, etc. Is there something personally offensive among those choices?

Some rifle shooters choose to use the Sako, others the Barrett Fieldcraft, others the Ruger, others the Savage, etc. Is there something personally offensive among those choices?

What actually drives our negative comments about the more erudite or complex words others choose to use?

Dess:


Phenomenal

And, after a quick perusal of the linked paper, may I enquire as to your thoughts on the author's work?

What math I saw seemed reasonable, given my absence from the science field for a few years in my retirement. I may have missed something.

Based on his "observation" of the gathered data, his conclusions appeared reasonable.

Did I miss something?

Personalities, insecurities, arrogance, but...primarily ignorance.

Ed

good stuff C's.



Some folks think golf is a "sport" too.

I prefer to use Big Words when speaking . . .

"I've been stretching my mouth
to let those big words come right out"

Another good one!

I heard if you have one of those for more than 4 hours, you are supposed to call your doctor.

Or experience. No one enjoys being "talked down to" by an arrogant person who had the benefit of an education. I live near the University of California at Davis, and work in San Francisco. I am often dismissed by people merely because I lack a degree. It matters not if I am more experienced and knowledgeable in some cases, or even a subject matter expert in others.

But Ed nailed it. Personalities.

This place has a lot of them but they tend to be the good ones.

I didn't study it that hard, and I freely admit to a degree of confirmation bias.

(oh, agreed, being a science major )

Years ago I was on the subway heading to Southie and a guy stepped aboard with a bunch of other passengers. Immediately, the fella sitting next to me jumps up and excitedly walks over and embraces this guy who just came on. "My God it's Tom Flanagan! How long's it been, brother? Ten years? Man, the times we used to have! Great to see you and you're looking very robust, Tommy!" Tommy looks a little sheepish and responds with, "Yeah, I been pretty robust for a few years. Just got out of the joint last month after doing 5 years in Concord (state prison)" I belly laughed.

Yikes!

Your terminology is too copious for my diminutive comprehension. If you wish to converse with me please enunciate more explicitly!!

Big word use up less crayons than lots little words.

Brevity is efficiency.

shooting, fishing, hunting,

Um, isn't "education" always a noun? "Educate" would be the verb, no?

Yes, am thinking that you did. But, a reasonable miss.
Yes, mathman – I will accede to your request. For more than one reason, I hesitated before doing this. Such exercise has become boringly toilsome - dregs from a previous life.

While I have no quarrel with the actual calculations presented in the study/paper by Cory Koedel (June 2011), certain design aspects and fundamental assumptions are very limiting. These are limiting to the point that this work, in and of itself, is nowhere near sufficient to support that blanket statement posted here by our friend mathman.

Koedel’s paper may be quite useful for anecdotal purposes or for examination of more discrete factors of influence in the three universities studied. However, the alleged “findings” about reasons for GPA differentials have the appearance of a flimsy skeleton developed to support a stated main feature of the work, which is to “predict” outcomes associated with delivery of education in K-12 school settings. (Please note Section III, Potential Implications of the Low Grading Standards in Education Departments).

Here are but a few factors that lead to the above assessment.

The study and real data is limited to just three institutions of higher ed from among the 4000+ in the US.

The “data” on SAT scores of entering education majors is “available evidence” from a single paper published elsewhere 11 years ago. (Page 6) and I have no idea about the scope or veracity of that one – and am not going to read it.

The real meat of the discrepancy in this one is that the author starts with a pre-conceived notion – an assumption – and it is one not borne out by the data and evidence. The author states on page 2 that: The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight the magnitude of the current grading-standards discrepancy between education and non-education departments. NOTICE – the author does not say “grades”, which is the actual data – but adds the term “standards”, which is a presumptive finding, apparently intended to serve other purposes.

The author reveals the primarily speculative bases for the findings in the capsule explanation at the beginning of the paper. This statement notes that the conclusion regarding “low grading standards” in education courses is a speculative default position – a generally unsupported finding which, itself, is assumed because two other self-identified factors are eliminated by calculations and subjective actions within.

Exemplary of the above, the actual data shows that average class sizes in education courses were notably smaller than class sizes in other disciplines cited, and the author states: “Perhaps not surprisingly, 1is negative and statistically significant in all three regressions, which means that smaller classes are indeed associated with higher grades.” Yet, the author eventually chooses to “suggest” that this class size factor is not causal for higher GPA averages.

The author’s actual statement is: “The higher grades awarded by education departments cannot be explained by differences in student quality or by structural differences across departments (i.e., differences in class sizes). The remaining explanation is that the higher grades are the result of lower grading standards.” (That is default speculation). In the paper on page 1, the author says it simply with no supporting data - anywhere: “The likely explanation is grade inflation.” (Truly scientific – data supported - and academic?)

One could go on and on – there is quite a bit more. I do not enjoy this stuff very much anymore.

Because they want to have a conversation in front of you and you not understand,
Had a divorce lawyer and a judge do that once long ago.
I just sat listening and acted dumb letting them make fools of themselves.
Then when asked I gave the correct answer for my benefit, they were never the wiser.
I still laff about it 40 some years later.

Well, it seems to be perfectly acceptable for people discussing topics that have specialized vocabulary in order to make those not in the know feel inferior.

No - not in my book. It is an active process - not a product.. I suppose it is what you choose to make it.

And when making a point or answering a question, one should always be cogent and parsimonious.

Ironic, this thread running along with one on LTL freight.
Then FTL, and exclusive use became up.

A guy had to ask what-in-thee-hell (my term) that meant. As he shipped things, and wanted to understand how the issue affected him.

Were the guys communicating about freight issues, in industry terms,
doing anything wrong? Hiding anything? Showing themselves superior?


Or, were they just using familiar terminology to communicate?

Was the guy who ask stupid?

In my opinion, it was a reasonable, efficient conversation.

The guy who ask? Reasonable that people outside the industry aren't familiar with the jargon. Reasonable to ask. And he was brought up to speed.

But hell, it's truck driver talk. Can't be too complicated.😉

Every industry has it's own language. I bet there's some PhD's out there that couldn't follow two truckers' or two mechanics' conversations. Then there's machinists...

Ed

A lingo, or jargon for every business.

Eschew verbal prolixity !

A man goes to a funeral and asks the widow:
Mind if I say a word?" She says: "Please do." The man clears his throat and says: "Plethora." The widow replies: "Thanks, that means a lot."

- Also known as 'nomenclature'.

I see what you did there.

I fell asleep in English class one day. The teacher woke me up in an attempt to embarrasse me and asked me to define ignorance and apathy. I said I don't know and I don't care and went back to sleep. She just stood there looking befuddled.

BTW why is abbreviation such a long word?

Bb

Just tools.

Every communication requires different tools.

Why just one? Shouldn't we all be?

You can charge more for gastric anomalies than you can for a belly ache.

What's another word for Thesaurus?

While "big" words can be more explicit and exacting in their meaning, they become useless when "talking over the recipient's head" , so to speak.
So I try to speak in a common manner, whenever possible.
Simple is mostly good, and understandable to more folk.

Try out onomasticon.

Sophistry

"All this exactness and precision are useless when trying to get a point across to my wife. It is folly to try."

I wish mine would learn to use nouns and remember the names of things.

Sometimes it goes something like this:

"When are you going to fix that dangly thing?"

What dangly thing?

The one in the bedroom.

Our bedroom?

Yes.

Where is it?

I told you, it's in the bedroom.

Where? In the master bath?

No.

In the closet?

No.

Which wall is it on? North, South, East, or West?

I don't know directions in there.

Is it across from the bed?

No.

On your side or mine?

Yours."

At this point I can go in there and look for a danglyy thing that needs some sort of fix......

A man who understands communications.

People think it makes them sound smart.

Five years ago I found the "f" word to be perhaps the most commonly used word in the Republic of Ireland, might be I was hanging around the lower sort of Irish.

Easy way to frighten and confuse the great unwashed....

An old time preacher said, Put the cookies on the bottom shelf so all the kids can get them.