What could be more fascinating than human beings, in all our endless variety? This week we’ll present some nouns and adjectives for describing various personalities in our lives.
loquacious – given to much talking; very talkative
Your friend the patrolman says a great deal. … I never suspected that he could be so loquacious or that he was capable of such perceptive comment. – John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces
MW says that the word loquacious “suggests the power of expressing oneself articulately, fluently, or glibly.” I disagree: to me the word usually focuses on the high quantity of free and easy speech, regardless of its quality. But hey! I’m not the expert.
Here are two other shadings of the general concept of talkativeness.
garrulous [noun form:garrulity] – talkative – usually in a negative sense of being long and rambling, wordy; or trivial; and tedious, tiresome and annoying).
Typically applied to the elderly, with the condescending sense of “Well, we can be charitable toward the old fool.”
She isn't wicked: she's only a silly, garrulous old woman who has got into a habit of grumbling, and feels that a little kindness, and rest, and change would due [sic] her all right. – C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
voluble – talkative (stressing fluency or glibness; rapid and ready of speech)
[U.S football players] Upshaw and Shell also had adjoining lockers in the Raiders’ dressing room. Though Shell is quite intelligent, few writers ever discovered that because he was so quiet. Upshaw was not. Almost from the beginning, he was an articulate, voluble speaker. Writers and broadcasters gravitate naturally to players like that because they provide the needed quotes and sound bites … – Pro Football Weekly, Aug. 26, 2008
scapegrace – an incorrigible scamp; a rascal. (Often with the semi-complimentary sense of “a likeable rascal”.)
Like many reformed villains …, the home secretary has decided to recast himself as a loveable rogue, a charming scapegrace. – Guardian Unlimited, Jan. 30, 2001
Here's an little-known word for a very common personality. We all know this type of person. Many of us are this type of person. It’s nice to have a name for it.
misocapnist – person who hates tobacco smoke
As smoking in misocapnist North America is declining, cigarettes are cheap and plentiful in Korea. – K. Lee Washington, A Jewel Amid the Yellow Dust
crepe-hanger – a gloomy pessimist; a kill-joy [originally, one who hung up crepe (black silk, formerly used for mourning clothes) as a sign of mourning. Also spelled with the hyphen omitted, either as one word or as two separate words.]
There are rules for almost anything you could name. Here is a set for how to avoid being popular. … Score on six and only your mother can love you. … 2. Complain. Take the negative attitude every time. Be a crepehanger. – (Chicago) Suburbanite Economist, Feb. 28, 1971
. . .”This is how we’re going to handle campaign contributions.” . . .“What campaign contributions?” asked Peck. "Our money's drying up. We're damned near broke." . . ."Peck," said Leon with a note of irritation in his voice, "you are an incurable crepe hanger.. Don’t worry. The money will come.” – Robert Laxalt, The Governor's Mansion
pillock – British: a stupid person; a fool, an idiot [orig. Scottish for “penis”]
Apparently an unkind word not to be used in good company, and used figuratively (“You stupid pillock!”) rather than literally. Can our British readers explain further?
[Iain’s adult son has insulted his lady friend.] Iain tched … . You’re haverin’ love. I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with that pillock son I spawned. - Katie MacAlister, Men in Kilts
My wife fled the minute she saw me and I was left standing in the middle of the room with a bunch of flowers in my hand, looking like a complete pillock. – Europe Intelligence Wire, Feb. 27, 2007
Bonus Word: haver – 1.Scottish: to talk foolishly; babble. 2.British: to act in an indecisive manner.
I love it! While I haven't worked in pulmonology for a few years now, I should know this word, but I hadn't heard of it. I am familiar with the words hypercapnia and hypocapnia, which relate to increased or decreased amounts of carbon dioxide in the blood. I know that they originate from the Greek word kapnos, meaning smoke. Obviously this word also derives from kapnos.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
Apparently an unkind word not to be used in good company, and used figuratively (“You stupid pillock!”) rather than literally. Can our British readers explain further?
Um ...
I think it's rather obvious why it's not used much in polite company, bearing in mind its literal meaning.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
When she said she knows about Foreign Policy because Russia is visible from Alaska, someone wrote, "I can see the moon. Does that make me an astronaut?"
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