# Words you use to make yourself sound smart **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103 "2011-03-18T02:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/61 "2011-03-19T21:39:32Z")
“Me.” As in: “If you have anything to present, please check with the other supervisor or [del]myself[/del] **ME**.” Using “myself” when “me” is appropriate is just stupid. Ergo, using “me” sounds intelligent. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/62 "2011-03-19T22:59:23Z")
Ahh, I don’t need them fancy words, folks know I be an intralectrical wi’out me rubbin’ it in their faces. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/63 "2011-03-20T01:21:48Z")
> [@Anticounterrevolutionary](#): > > I posit that if you pronounce “forte” properly, as “fort”, you won’t make yourself sound smart. Most people will think you’re mispronouncing it. Except the people who actually _care._ Pronoucing **forte** , the noun, or **dour** correctly are passwords for the word nerd club. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “Me.” As in: “If you have anything to present, please check with the other supervisor or [del]myself[/del] **ME**.” > > Using “myself” when “me” is appropriate is just stupid. Ergo, using “me” sounds intelligent. You use me; I utilize myself. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/64 "2011-03-20T01:31:04Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > carrots, violin, codfish, polystyrene, noodle, rhizome, charlie sheen > [@Pandoranoid](#): > > That is the most brilliant thing anyone has ever said. Sure, you ivory tower types always stick together. 🙂 > [@Balthisar](#): > > Here on the 'Dope, I write like an idiot, because the overwhelming majority writes like an idiot. \ You’re saying that most of the people on the Dope write like idiots? Have you _seen_ the rest of the internet?!? > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “Me.” As in: “If you have anything to present, please check with the other supervisor or [del]myself[/del] **ME**.” > > Using “myself” when “me” is appropriate is just stupid. Ergo, using “me” sounds intelligent. I’m on board with this; I, me, mine, you, yours are all perfectly good words and can still be used; you don’t have to substitute “myself” and “yourself” for all of them. > [@j66](#): > > \ > I’m flabberrgasted. You never heard the word ‘chaos’ spoken? > \ It seems possible to me - the word you hear and the word you read don’t always match up (and “chaos” is not a bad example of this). ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/65 "2011-03-20T02:38:03Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It seems possible to me - the word you hear and the word you read don’t always match up (and “chaos” is not a bad example of this). But the poster knew what the word meant. Would s/he have made the connection if s/he heard the word? Then again, I do know Italian-Americans who don’t know how to pronounce ‘ciao’ when they see it written … Do most Americans find words of latin origin easier to pronounce - or figure out the pronouncian of - than words of greek origin? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/66 "2011-03-21T12:26:23Z")
> [@Anticounterrevolutionary](#): > > I posit that if you pronounce “forte” properly, as “fort”, you won’t make yourself sound smart. Most people will think you’re mispronouncing it. “for-tay” has become accepted through misuse by people trying to sound smart! I please guilty to this. To be fair, like so many words that I learned, I learned “forte” by reading. Then I took band in school, where the word was pronounced the Italian way rather than the French way, because, well, it was correct in that context! ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/67 "2011-03-21T12:30:57Z")
provenance, ubiquitous, stuff like that. Not to sound smart, but because that’s simply the way I speak. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/68 "2011-03-21T13:18:19Z")
> [@Vihaga](#): > > Cromulent. shakes tiny fist at Vihaga Curses! ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/69 "2011-03-21T13:29:50Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I must admit, the OP seems funny coming from someone with a username **CheeseDonkey**. Just makes me snicker, thinking of trying to insert \*that \*word into a conversation… “Sir, the rest of the pack train has reached the camp at the top of the mountain, but the cheesedonkey is balking at the steep trail.” “Well, compel the brute to utilize the alternate vector, lackey!” ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/70 "2011-03-21T16:04:40Z")
I had a nurse who pronounced _forte_ properly as “fort” and I expressed my delight. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/71 "2011-03-21T17:40:33Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > well aren’t “big words” big because they’re super-specific? i could say something is “spotlessly clean”, or i can say “immaculate”. instead of saying i have “a lot of a good thing”, i have a “surplus”. a healthy vocabulary does indeed make things clearer… as long as your audience has the same vocabulary. I don’t believe that is what the OP was asking for. However, if, by using a big word, the additional specificity helps the communication and positions you as clear and confident, then go for it. If some shmo is inserting extra jargon to dazzle me, I shut down. ---
**Author:** ![Silent\_Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Silent\_Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silent_Kal)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/72 "2011-03-21T18:47:54Z")
abscond anachronistic apoplectic conflagration dichotomy excoriate fisticuffs fracas hardscrabble iconoclast idiosyncrasy inexorable interlocutor mercurial nadir reactionary No one’s mentioned “[inconceivable!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58LpHBnvsI&feature=related)” yet? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/73 "2011-03-21T19:55:05Z")
There aren’t any. I keep my vocabulary as simple as possible. It’s better for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Hazel_Ice)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/74 "2011-03-21T23:33:12Z")
As an English teacher, I seem to absorb the vocab words from the curriculum and use them without thinking. I also enjoy picking up fun words now and then from my own reading. Sometimes I share them with my students. I know that some use words to seem like pretentious twits, but there is something delightful about a wonderfully selected, specific word, even if you have to look it up. My current favorites: Juxtaposition (for those odd comparisons we make in class) Defenestrate (what I say I will do to students who give away the endings of key books) Penultimate (because its fun to say) Eponymous (again…it’s fun) ---
**Author:** ![Troutsqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Troutsqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troutsqueezer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/75 "2011-03-21T23:37:48Z")
Strategery. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/76 "2011-03-22T01:51:37Z")
I used the word ‘precarious’ once, and out of a group of six or seven co-workers, not one knew what I meant. mmm ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/77 "2011-03-22T02:12:06Z")
Sometimes it’s the opposite for me. For example, I’ll use a word I think most everyone who’s older than 12 would know, like “precocious”, and if my wife is around, she might catch on from the blank faces, and say, he means he thinks your kid’s smart for their age. I know the words I know, and there are only a handful I’d refrain from using depending on the circumstances, just in case of misinterpretation. (e.g. “nonplussed” or “penultimate”, these are notoriously confusing words, even for educated people.) ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/78 "2011-03-22T06:20:00Z")
irregardless “for all intensive purposes” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/79 "2011-03-23T07:12:36Z")
> [@Silent\_Kal](#): > > No one’s mentioned “[inconceivable!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58LpHBnvsI&feature=related)” yet? The problem is that nobody thinks it means what anybody else thinks it means… ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-use-to-make-yourself-sound-smart/575103/80 "2011-04-03T23:57:34Z")
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