... the opposite of eloquent?
It's pauciloquent "Uttering few words; brief in speech."
For more '-quents', see this extensive list. You'll find a lot of educated sounding alternatives to lie and blather. E.g.
falsiloquence - deceitful speech
flexiloquent - speaking ambiguously or using words of doubtful meaning
inaniloquent - prone to foolish or empty babbling
mendaciloquence - lying speech
Also good to know:
sialoquent - spitting greatly while speaking
But the best is, nobody will have any idea what you are talking about. Eloquent or not.
See also: Did you know
Thursday, May 10, 2007
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An old one:
ReplyDeleteEloquent:(n.) (Pompous Pedantus) a ruminant found in Netland, especially noted for the loud noises it makes. The eloquent is distantly related to the elephant[*], having its thick hide, and a long trunk (principally used to pat itself on the back). However it is much larger than the elephant, its ego alone being the size of its smaller cousin.
Recent sightings in the blogsphere are a reassurance that the species is hardly an endangered one.
[*] fossil evidence proves that it is evolved from the wild-ass.
The name comes from Old English `olifant' (elephant) and `quagga' (a now-extinct zebra-like animal), of which it was considered to be a hybrid.
Etymology: OE olifant + quagga -> OE oliquagant -> ME oliquant
What a fun resource! Thanks for finding it.
ReplyDelete