Descriptionary

double entendre an ambiguous word or statement with an underlying meaning that is risque or provoca­tive.

double negative the incorrect use of two nega­tives in one sentence, as in "he doesn't know nobody there."

doublespeak wordy, evasive, or obscure language used to gloss over a subject or hoodwink listeners with circumlocution.

echoic word a word that sounds like the subject it represents, as in "tick-tock," "crackle," "pop," "swish," "gong."

elegy a poem or expression of lament, usually for the dead.

eloquence the fluent, persuasive use of language; expressiveness.

embolalia inserting useless words or utterances into speech to stall for time while collecting one's thoughts, such as "uh, you know, like, I mean, you know."

enallage improper use of tense, mood, or gender, for example, calling a herd of cows a herd of cow, or calling a woman a guy.

enunciate to pronounce words clearly and correctly.

epistolary written in the style of a letter or letters, as some novels.

epithet word or term that characterizes a per­son or thing. Also, an adjective or descriptive word that forms part of a name, as in Richard the Lion- Hearted.

eponym a person from whom a place or thing is named, as in Washington, Addison's disease, Phillips screwdriver.

equivocate to speak ambiguously in order to con­fuse or mislead.

esprit de l'escalier the witty comment or snappy reply you wish you had said to someone earlier if you had only thought of it, literally; wit from the staircase.

etymology the origin and development of words; the derivation of words.

etymon the root or earliest form of a word, as a foreign word from which an English word is derived. A word's original meaning.

euphemism a substitution of an offensive word or phrase with a more acceptable one, as in "passed on" for died.

eusystolism the substituting of initials for com­plete words, as a form of euphemism, as in "S.O.B." "B.S."

exemplum a short story or anecdote given to illus­trate a moral.

exonym the foreign-language spelling of a native geographical name.

exposition a presentation of explanatory informa­tion, as distinguished from narrative or description.

expressionist of a style of prose characterized by the use of symbolism and surrealism.

extemporaneous performed with little or no prepa­ration, as an impromptu speech.

extrapolate to make an inference beyond the known facts; to surmise.

eyewash flattering or misleading talk.

facetiae humorous or ribald writings, anecdotes, sayings.

faction nonfiction presented in the style of fiction.

faux pas a socially unacceptable or embarrassing remark; literally, false step.

felicity any apt choice of words.

Freudian slip a slip of the tongue that inadvertently reveals what's on the mind of the speaker.

fused metaphor the incorrect joining of two meta­phors; for example, "my monkey to bear" (my cross to bear; a monkey on my back).

fustian pompous or pretentious speech or writing.

Gallicism an English word or phrase derived from French.

glib speaking easily and fluently but superficially, smugly, or insincerely.

grammatism being overly concerned about the proper use of grammar.

hack a writer more concerned with making a buck than creating fine art; one whose writing is trite.

hackneyed trite, cliched, unoriginal, banal.

heterography inconsistent spelling usage, as in letters that are pronounced differently in different words, like the g in "good" and "geriatric," or the c in "car" and "cite."

heteronym a word having the same spelling as another but with a completely different meaning and pronunciation, as in "bass" (fish) and "bass" (drum) or "bow" (ribbon) and "bow" (boat).

heterophemy the inadvertent or incorrect use of a word that is similar in spelling or pronunciation to another word, such as "cinnamon" for synonym. Also, the use of a euphemism with a pregnant pause, as in "the president is . . . indisposed . . . if you know what I mean."

Hispanicism a Spanish word used in English, such as jalapeno, machismo.

hobbyhorse a pet topic or argument.

Hobson-Jobson the alteration of a foreign word into English, for example, "compound" from the

Malay "kampong," or "grouper" from the Portu­guese "garoupa."

homograph a word identical in spelling with another word but having a different pronunciation, as in "bass" (fish) and "bass" (drum).

homonym a word spelled and pronounced the same as another word but having a different meaning, for example, "bow" (ship) and "bow" (down).

homonym slip the incorrect writing of one word for another with the same or nearly the same pronun­ciation, for example, "too" for "two," or "then" for "than."