Less educated people have a painful tendency to improperly use the thesaurus, randomly replacing everyday words with what they consider to be more academic words. The problem of course is that they sometimes do not understand the variance in definitions. The thesaurus lists terrorist, freedom fighter, revolutionary, mercenary, etc. as synonyms, yet obviously these words carry slightly different denotations and highly different connotations. And of course, there is always the problem of sentences that just don't sound right (should I have used a thesaurus to make that sound more intellectual?). For example, here are a few I have seen or heard, whether in a student paper, in passing conversation, or on the web.
I utilized a multitined tool to process a starch resource. (I used my fork to eat a potato.)
When my feline expired, I waxed lachrymose. (When my cat died, I cried.)
Albeit the aliment was scarcely commensurate in proportion to the multitudinous representation of persons, I nevertheless derived significant gratification from partaking of the pabulum. (Even though there wasn't enough food for everyone, I still enjoyed it.)
Anyone else have any examples?
Here are a few favorites from an English class I took in CA.
ReplyDeleteTenants of vitreous abodes ought not hurl lithoidal fragments.
Pulchritude does not extend below the surface of the dermis.
Failure to be present causes the vital organ to become more enamored.