Word of the Day (07/07/08)
The word of the day, thanks to Merriam-Webster:
euphuism YOO-fyuh-wiz-um noun
   1 : an elegant Elizabethan literary style marked by excessive use of balance, antithesis, and alliteration and by frequent use of similes drawn from mythology and nature
  2 : artificial elegance of language
Nowadays, someone who uses euphuism might be accused of linguistic excess and affectation, but “euphuism” hasn’t always had a negative connotation. When John Lyly employed this verbose form of rhetoric in his prose works Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578) and Euphues and His England (1580), it was a style that appealed to many of his contemporaries. “Euphuism†comes from the name of the character Euphues, whom Lyly described as a “young gallante, of more wit then wealth, and yet of more wealth then wisdome.” The name was probably inspired by a Greek word meaning “witty.” The term “euphuism” came into being to refer to Lyly’s (and other writers’) style a dozen or so years after his works appeared.
Hmmmm. the second meaning reminds me of the kind of purple prose that I used to see on roleplaying games – the use of optics and orbs for eyes being the one that got most on my wick.Â
The first meaning, on the other hand… well, I can see its relevance even to some of the poetry I’ve written in the past (I’m excessively fond of both balance and alliteration).Â
But the artifical elegance of language? That makes me think of people posing their hands while speaking in an affected accent. No thanks.
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on July 8th, 2008 at 11:45 am
“Optics” and “orbs”… ugh. “Pools of green,” is pretty bad too.
I also hate words like “sapphire” and “mahogany” used to describe eyes and hair.
Euphuism is a great word. Nice post
Fiendish’s last post: Some Fiction
on July 10th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
That first definition has me purring in the palm of its hand, but… EUPHUISM? Say it out loud, and ugh…. ghastly.
It sounds like you’ve tried to say ‘euphemism’ and missed…or like you’re Peter Cook’s mad clergyman in the Princess Bride.
No thanks.
Susan’s last post: Autism, Fibromyalgia, and a Big Box from Portland
on July 12th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I misread as ‘euphemism’ when I first spotted it in my Word of the Day email – I thought that would be an interesting enough word-related word to use, but when I realised what it actually was, I like it even better.
But I can’t actually even begin to pronounce it, even using the pronunciation guide – my tongue just curls up on itself!