Word of the Day: lexiphanic

lexiphanic (adj)

Pretentiously verbose.

"The big day in court arrived in the wings of mosquitoes. Coyote stood and firmly addressed Judge Petar Pantrumple, performing a long, slow deference dance: 'Your honor, my brother legulian seems to be confused. I know he is not the lexiphanic sesquipedalian you are. All I am suggesting is that, in the interest of the court's time, they admit culpability.'"
--Yulalona Lopez, Coyote Remasked

When you're an editor (of text), you're always aiming for precision and felicity while avoiding both oversimplification and verbosity. At the same time, you have to preserve the author's "voice" (assuming there is one). In a way, it's like topiary or, better, hairstyling, when the owner of the bush asks for "just a trim". It has to be the same, but better. Here, I can wax lexiphanic, when it amuses me. Wax? I don't mean beeswax.

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