william kessler
"Daddy-o", "Far Out", "Gnarly": the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so "fly" anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you'd bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.”
It was once common, before television, radio, or cheap books, for an average person, seeking entertainment, to listen at length to oratory. The Gettysburg Address was only a short monologue preceded by the day’s main event, a two-hour-long speech heard by 15,000 people. The Lincoln-Douglas debates, which consisted of a 60-minute speech, a 90-minute rebuttal, and a 30-minute rejoinder, drew tens of thousands. But for every skilled orator, there were many more terrible ones. They rambled. They babbled. They droned. They even bloviated. It’s this word, “bloviate”, and its cousins – “absquatulate,” “confusticate,” and the celebrated “discombobulate” among them – that I’d bring back.
“Bloviate,” which one lexicographer defined as “to indulge in 'high falutin',” became uncool shortly after being coined in 1857 and passed out of usage. Later, however, “bloviation” was taken up to describe the speaking style of President Warren G. Harding, whom e e cummings called “the only man, woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors.” (A sample Harding sentence: “Americanism really began when robed in nationality.”) After Harding died in office, the word again faded until its revival during the 2000 election.
“Absquatulate,” meaning to exit, was popular until the Civil War, when it was phased out in favor of “skedaddle.” “Discombobulate” won out over “discombobricate,” “discombobberate,” and “discomboomerate.” “Scrumplicate,” meaning to eat, never achieved the fame that “scrumptious” did.
One feature of the words is that many are autological, meaning that they describe themselves. Using “bloviate” or its adjective synonym “toploftical” without irony would be bloviating. Using “discombobulate” on someone unaware of its meaning would be discombobulating. So too with “confusticate” and “spifflicate.” The exception is “undercumstumble,” whose usage might lead to a failure of undercumstumbling.
Although these words seem Latinate, none of them have Latin etymologies. They’re not slang, exactly, but they weren’t “correct” when coined. Today they’re echoed by a slang subculture that ironically uses “antiquated” terms like “bamboozle” or “shenanigans” – which I enjoy less, since words like “bamboozle” have not yet been divorced from their original, straight meanings, especially among older speakers. But everyone can enjoy “bloviate” and kin. The mock-Latin words incarnate a distinct sense of humor. They manage to both represent and repudiate the characteristic bombast of a time since passed in a way unlike any other words I’ve heard.
In short, used tastefully, they can be very funny. And they’re singularly American.
I absquatulate.
Information sourced from Etymonline, Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the OED.