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Comic Books
"The trouble with you, Hank, is that you can't understand anybody who doesn't use ten-syllable words!"
— Bobby Drake, X-Men #7
Reed: I couldn't have said it better myself Johnny.
Johnny: Yes you could, you just woulda used bigger words.
Johnny: Yes you could, you just woulda used bigger words.
"An exigiously more sedulous management of even etoliated phrenic sinews would evulgate your heterization as latent."
— Reggie tells some new friends that they aren't as mutated as him, Major Bummer
Fan Works
Egon Spengler: "You got yourself well and truly intoxicated, Peter."
Peter Venkman: "Don't use big words like that."
Films — Animation
Leonardo: Sounds like you've got everything covered, Donny.
Michelangelo: Yeah, especially the big words!
Michelangelo: Yeah, especially the big words!
Perceptor: Ultra Magnus, a cursory evaluation of Decepticon capability indicates a distinct tactical deficiency!
Ultra Magnus: In other words, Perceptor?
Springer: We're outnumbered!
Ultra Magnus: In other words, Perceptor?
Springer: We're outnumbered!
Captain Amelia: [to Doppler] Let me make this as... monosyllabic as possible. I... don't much care for this crew you hired. They're... [to Arrow] how did I describe them, Arrow? I said something rather good this morning before coffee.
Mr. Arrow: "A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots," ma'am.
Captain Amelia: [to Doppler] There you go, poetry.
Mr. Arrow: "A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots," ma'am.
Captain Amelia: [to Doppler] There you go, poetry.
Films — Live-Action
"Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?"
— Ulysses Everett McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Elizabeth: Captain Barbossa, I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal.
Barbossa: There were a lot of long words in there, Miss. We're naught but humble pirates! What is it that you want?
Elizabeth: I want you to leave and never come back.
Barbossa: I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. [Beat] Means "no".
Barbossa: There were a lot of long words in there, Miss. We're naught but humble pirates! What is it that you want?
Elizabeth: I want you to leave and never come back.
Barbossa: I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. [Beat] Means "no".
Dr. Robotnik: Allow me to clarify: in a sequentially-ranked hierarchy, based on level of critical importance, the disparity between us is too vast to quantify. Agent Stone?
Agent Stone: The Doctor thinks you're basic.
Agent Stone: The Doctor thinks you're basic.
"As much as I regret done, dear sir, it is unhappily incumbent upon me, as owner of these premises to regard your mana to the dereliction there, shall we say, 'inconvenient' to my purposes? So vastly inconvenient, one might add, that should the debit remain outstanding for as much as 24 hours more, I fear that legal machinery must perforce be set in motion a mess essentially and rumble face the in commodious prospect of taking up residence in the street."
— Lord Black, The Comedy of Terrors
"Well, it's not difficult to surmise how Nathan here feels about killing guards, and my own proclivities are well-known and often lamented facts of penal lore. What I'm wondering is why you have any opinion about it at all."
— Cyrus, Con Air
"Silence! The magnitude of your simplitude overwhelms me!"
"Your mediocre mind cannot begin to comprehend the importance of my work. I suggest you look into your own neurotic behavior. Then perhaps you will understand your continuing negativity."
—Dr. Anthony Blakely, The Brain (1988)
Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey: Oh. Right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
[carves "V" into poster on wall]
V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [chuckles] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey: Oh. Right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
[carves "V" into poster on wall]
V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [chuckles] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
Literature
If you want to advance in management you have to convince other people that you're smart. This is accomplished by substituting incomprehensible jargon for common words. For example, a manager would never say, "I used my fork to eat a potato." A manager would say, "I utilized a multitined tool to process a starch resource." The two sentences mean almost the same thing, but the second one is obviously from a smarter person.
— Scott Adams, The Dilbert Principle
"NASA-ese is no worse than Air Force-ese or State Department-ese; I suppose each has its place, although none of them seems a desirable substitute for English. Examine the sentence "Jones and Smith don't get along well" translated into: (1) Air Force-ese: 'It is considered that effective utilization of the potential allegiance between Jones and Smith is not being harmoniously exploited"; (2) Nasa-ese: "The interface between Jones and Smith has gone divergent"; (3) State Department-ese: "Messrs. Jones and Smith's abrasiveness vis-a-vis each other is counterproductive to their bilateral relationship; each considers the other a bête noire"."
— Michael Collins, Carrying the Fire
There is a class of people not otherwise objectionable to whom one feels continually inclined to recommend the study of the English language. The language they use verges on slang, but is mostly like the "White Knight's pudding," an invention of their own, which they weakly regard as humorous. Their term for the ocean is always "the mill-pond" or the "briny deep." They never step on land, but on "terra firma." They "gaze at the starry firmament" in-stead of looking at the sky. And they meet their friends only upon "the Rialto." They never ask you to dinner, but "to grace the festal board." Their home is always their "vine and fig-tree," and their children are only their "olive- branches." Such cheap wit is far more tiresome than slang.
— The Argonaut magazine, volume XXXIV
"Our beautiful language has gifted us with such a multitude of words. What better way to glorify them than with their use?"
— Xiulan, Steel Crow Saga
Marco: I am trying to write a paper here.
Jake: On the topic of...?
Marco: On the topic of how to write a thousand words and say nothing. Zero. Nada. Squat.
Jake: We need to check Erek out. Definitely something wrong there.
Marco: You mean get inside his house?
Jake: Not yet. Get Tobias to watch him when he's outside. But Tobias will need some help.
Marco: I'll help. I’ll have plenty of time. I'm dropping out of school this afternoon. Right after the teacher gets done laughing at this paper.
Jake: Topic - the use of rhetoric to obscure a lack of content.
Marco: That's brilliant! It means the same as "the use of total bull"... but it sounds so much better!
Jake: On the topic of...?
Marco: On the topic of how to write a thousand words and say nothing. Zero. Nada. Squat.
Jake: We need to check Erek out. Definitely something wrong there.
Marco: You mean get inside his house?
Jake: Not yet. Get Tobias to watch him when he's outside. But Tobias will need some help.
Marco: I'll help. I’ll have plenty of time. I'm dropping out of school this afternoon. Right after the teacher gets done laughing at this paper.
Jake: Topic - the use of rhetoric to obscure a lack of content.
Marco: That's brilliant! It means the same as "the use of total bull"... but it sounds so much better!
—Animorphs #10: The Android (Marco got a B for that paper)
"Forgive [Alex]. His mother was a dictionary, and he feels like he's dishonoring her if he uses simple words."
— Shelby Tanner, Half-Off Ragnaroknote
"The atmospheric conditions have been very unfavourable lately."
— Owl, Winnie the Pooh, "Piglet is Entirely Surrounded by Water"
Live-Action TV
"Scintillate, scintillate, diminutive stellar orb,
How inexplicable to me seems this stupendous problem of your existence
Elevated at such at an immeasurable distance,
In an apparently perpendicular direction from this terrestrial planet which we occupy
Resembling in thy dazzling and unapproachable effulgence,
A gem of purest carbon, set solitaire in a university of space"
How inexplicable to me seems this stupendous problem of your existence
Elevated at such at an immeasurable distance,
In an apparently perpendicular direction from this terrestrial planet which we occupy
Resembling in thy dazzling and unapproachable effulgence,
A gem of purest carbon, set solitaire in a university of space"
— King Friday XIII singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, I must protest in the strongest possible terms my profound opposition to a newly instituted practice which imposes severe and intolerable restrictions upon the ingress and egress of senior members of the hierarchy and which will, in all probability, should the current deplorable innovation be perpetuated, precipitate a constriction of the channels of communication, and culminate in a condition of organisational atrophy and administrative paralysis which will render effectively impossible the coherent and co-ordinated discharge of the functions of government within Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland!
Jim Hacker: You mean you've lost your key?
Jim Hacker: You mean you've lost your key?
Barney: I'm telling you: Within three days...
Lily: Oh, here he comes — switch to big words.
Barney: Within a triad of solar periods, you'll recognize your dearth of compatibility with your paramour and conclude your association.
Robin: My journey was transformative, and I reassert my commitment to both the aforementioned paramour, and the philosophies he espouses.
Gael: What are we talking of? Baseball?
Barney: This is all going to return to masticate you in the gluteals. Support my hypothesis, Ted.
Ted: I'm just jubilant my former paramour is jubilant.
Lily: Oh, here he comes — switch to big words.
Barney: Within a triad of solar periods, you'll recognize your dearth of compatibility with your paramour and conclude your association.
Robin: My journey was transformative, and I reassert my commitment to both the aforementioned paramour, and the philosophies he espouses.
Gael: What are we talking of? Baseball?
Barney: This is all going to return to masticate you in the gluteals. Support my hypothesis, Ted.
Ted: I'm just jubilant my former paramour is jubilant.
"Okey dokey, Mr. Vocabulary, what does 'pistol-whip' mean?"
— Crow T. Robot, Mystery Science Theater 3000, "Teenage Crime Wave"
Michael Aspel: It has the whiff of verisimilitude.
Angus Deayton: I think he's saying it's true.
Angus Deayton: I think he's saying it's true.
"I need you to translate Finch's instructions on how to destroy the virus. Dude never met a five-syllable word he didn't like."
— Shaw, Person of Interest
James Corden: Reggie, do you have a question for any of our guests this evening?
Reggie: Uh, yes, I do. Tonight's question goes to... uh, all of our guests. With the, with the advent of edge computing — of volumetric capture — and the various aggregations of sensorial capture methods, uh, do you think by which creating a meta-universe — that would be the digital composite or the, or I guess the reflection of our own — do you think that we deserve the same rights, uh, as we do as citizens, as human beings, in the digital space as well?
[laughter]
Thomas Middleditch: Well-I-I assume you're talking about Technobot's Pythagorean theory of subparticle inversion across the astral plane but also in the digital realm, and if you are referring to that, what you're going to want to do is reach around the back and jiggle the USB... and then it'll... (I'll have to go with that...)
Reggie: ...I'm sorry to say, but that's only 98% correct.
Reggie: Uh, yes, I do. Tonight's question goes to... uh, all of our guests. With the, with the advent of edge computing — of volumetric capture — and the various aggregations of sensorial capture methods, uh, do you think by which creating a meta-universe — that would be the digital composite or the, or I guess the reflection of our own — do you think that we deserve the same rights, uh, as we do as citizens, as human beings, in the digital space as well?
[laughter]
Thomas Middleditch: Well-I-I assume you're talking about Technobot's Pythagorean theory of subparticle inversion across the astral plane but also in the digital realm, and if you are referring to that, what you're going to want to do is reach around the back and jiggle the USB... and then it'll... (I'll have to go with that...)
Reggie: ...I'm sorry to say, but that's only 98% correct.
Mr. Brittas: The basic notion Carole, is that each one of us undertakes and delivers a free and frank appraisal of a colleague's performance. This assessment will ascertain the optimum attainment levels of that colleague in pursuance of his or her operational duty.
Tim: I think he means how well we're doing in our jobs.
Mr. Brittas: That's one way of putting it Tim, yes.
It appears we will be required to ... ignite the midnight petroleum, sir.
Frasier: And indeed, I had high hopes for Niles and Maris, as is witnessed by my wedding toast, in which I combined my heartfelt sentiments with apt quotations from Shakespeare, jazz great Louis Armstrong, and the poet Catullus.
Donny: And so your answer would be, "Yes, I attended their wedding." Once again, Frasier, could you try to keep your answers brief?
Frasier: Well, I-
Martin: Trust me, he did.
Donny: And so your answer would be, "Yes, I attended their wedding." Once again, Frasier, could you try to keep your answers brief?
Frasier: Well, I-
Martin: Trust me, he did.
— Frasier
Music
"Which is to say, how it goes
Couched in terms no one knows
And as if the choice were slim
As if there's no synonym"
Couched in terms no one knows
And as if the choice were slim
As if there's no synonym"
— They Might Be Giants, "Contrecoup"
"I mean, really, who would name a disease,
'Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'?
Not very sensitive to people who have...
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
If you're afraid of big long words, here's one you should know-a
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!"
'Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'?
Not very sensitive to people who have...
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
If you're afraid of big long words, here's one you should know-a
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!"
— Songdrops, "The Long Word Song"
Unproduced Scripts
Mr. Harper: And don't worry: I'm not going to say cold noses run in my family.
Sir Roderick: Why not? It's a perfectly acceptable lay term for genetic probosco antarctica.
Video Games
Protagonist: Why do you use so many big words? Are you trying to make me feel stupid?
Kiser Jhaeri: My utilization of complex locution is more a reflection of my own superincumbent mental acuity than an aspersion on your circumscribed lexicon.
Protagonist: Maybe your grandiose vocabulary is a pathetic compensation for an insufficiency in the nether regions of your anatomy.
Kiser Jhaeri: My utilization of complex locution is more a reflection of my own superincumbent mental acuity than an aspersion on your circumscribed lexicon.
Protagonist: Maybe your grandiose vocabulary is a pathetic compensation for an insufficiency in the nether regions of your anatomy.
Sam: My mind is a swirling miasma of scintillating thoughts and turgid ideas.
Max: Me too!
Max: Me too!
Brink: Come here, you phlegm-carapaced, slime-faced, mucus-brained, furry legged abductor of luminously intelligent but pulchritudinous Earth women!
[Beat]
Brink: Low, you idiot! Why are you standing there?
Low: I'm still trying to figure out what you said.
[Beat]
Brink: Low, you idiot! Why are you standing there?
Low: I'm still trying to figure out what you said.
— The Dig
"I've had enough of your snide insinuations." [punch]
— Shepard, punching out a reporter, Mass Effect
"I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions!" [punch]
— Shepard, punching out the same reporter, Mass Effect 2
"Why, you brazenly avaricious, duplicitous, larcenous ursine!"
"You used so many big words, the little words around them don't make sense either."
— Shiina Mayuri, Steins;Gate
Na'ane: May the stars shine on you and your endeavours tonight, April-an... or what is it you sometimes say? "Break a foot"?
April: Break a leg. But I like "may the stars shine on you" better, Na'ane.
"Monstrous size has no intrinsic merit. Unless inordinate exsanguination be considered a virtue."
— The Ancestor, Darkest Dungeon
Palutena: The monster situation is quite clamant.
Pit: Is that...a good thing?
Palutena: You know, it's importunate. Or unpropitious.
Pit: Are you still speaking English right now?
Palutena: I'm sorry, Pit. I didn't mean to confuse you. Let me make this easier for you. Big monsters kill Pit grr!
Pit: Ah, that makes perfect sense! Thank you!
Pit: Is that...a good thing?
Palutena: You know, it's importunate. Or unpropitious.
Pit: Are you still speaking English right now?
Palutena: I'm sorry, Pit. I didn't mean to confuse you. Let me make this easier for you. Big monsters kill Pit grr!
Pit: Ah, that makes perfect sense! Thank you!
Web Original
Helen: Are you going to let me speak?
Yale: Of course dear, I'm just allowing you time to formulate your thoughts into a coherent structure.
Helen: Look at him. How could anyone put up with that?
Yale: Of course dear, I'm just allowing you time to formulate your thoughts into a coherent structure.
Helen: Look at him. How could anyone put up with that?
Wolverine: Hey bub, I'm a Marvel.
Doctor Manhattan: At this point, I am obligated to inform you that I am a DC in order to differentiate between our companies. However, both companies exist in the same plane of reality, both contains the same number of particles. Structurally, there is no discernible differences.
[Beat]
Wolverine: Wow, who wouldn't pay to see that for 3 hours?
Doctor Manhattan: At this point, I am obligated to inform you that I am a DC in order to differentiate between our companies. However, both companies exist in the same plane of reality, both contains the same number of particles. Structurally, there is no discernible differences.
[Beat]
Wolverine: Wow, who wouldn't pay to see that for 3 hours?
— I'm a Marvel... And I'm a DC: Wolverine and Watchmen (Dr. Manhattan)
"Lovecraft is wonderfully distinct, and I love him to bits, but the more of his work you read, the more you determine that his main strength is in writing in the uniquely self-indulgent Lovecraft style. (What, another gambrel rooftop? The moon is, wait, let me guess - gibbous? The ruins -- Cyclopean? Their geometry — hideous and inhuman? And then he goes and coins the word "hippocephalic" for no good reason.)"
Piccolo: Listen up, runt! Today we're going to commence your intense training under me.
Gohan: But wait. Wouldn't that cause horrible muscle degeneration for somebody my age, crippling me for years to come?
Piccolo: ... you're a wordy little bastard, aren't you?
Gohan: My mom wants me to become an ortho—
Piccolo: NEEEEEERD!
Gohan: ...w-what?
Gohan: But wait. Wouldn't that cause horrible muscle degeneration for somebody my age, crippling me for years to come?
Piccolo: ... you're a wordy little bastard, aren't you?
Gohan: My mom wants me to become an ortho—
Piccolo: NEEEEEERD!
Gohan: ...w-what?
Gohan: I'M GONNA EVISCERATE YOU AND USE YOUR GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT AS A CONDOM WHILE I FORNICATE WITH YOUR SKULL!
Nappa: ...What?
Gohan: I'M GONNA SKULL-F[bleep] YOU!
Nappa: ...What?
Gohan: I'M GONNA SKULL-F[bleep] YOU!
Lorenz: My monumental thoughts' manifestations - which are realized in the form of sentences - are not always acceptable for your limited mental capabilities. The continuity of our dialogue is therefore interrupted. Synthesis of arguments does not occur.
Neon: ...say what? What am I doing here?
Lorenz: Good question. But far from being the most relevant one. A more interesting one would be what am I doing here sitting on chairmats, without a bed, table or food. Or - as you would notice - without a detailed TV program guide either.
Neon: ...say what? What am I doing here?
Lorenz: Good question. But far from being the most relevant one. A more interesting one would be what am I doing here sitting on chairmats, without a bed, table or food. Or - as you would notice - without a detailed TV program guide either.
— Vektor, The Abridged Series of The Matrix
Teddy Bridgewater: Tsk tsk, my fine Houston fellows. There’s no need to lament the misfortune you suffered during that fateful selection process. Your failure to secure my services for your gridiron endeavors is in the past now, like so much "water under the bridge." Tee-hee. I hope you rascals enjoyed my oh-so-clever wordplay on that comment. Oh, but I do enjoy a hearty pun.
Jay Cutler: What the hell is he babbling about?
Colin Kaepernick: I think this Bridgewater idiot wants his “thing” to be, “Guy that talks like he’s gargling a thesaurus.”
Jay Cutler: What the hell is he babbling about?
Colin Kaepernick: I think this Bridgewater idiot wants his “thing” to be, “Guy that talks like he’s gargling a thesaurus.”
"I love the term 'orthogonal unit differentiation', because in pretentiousness and awkwardness, it's only second to 'ludonarrative dissonance'."
— Matthias Worch, GDC 2014
"This is a guy who receives a thesaurus for like, every single birthday. No, asks for a thesaurus for every single birthday. And is happy to receive it."
— Dan Floyd describing Urianger, Final Fantasy XIV Let's Play
Webcomics
"I'm sorry, Yuan-Ti have a high intelligence compared to most humanoids and in my case, it causes me to fall victim to an exponentially redundant vocabulary when I become nervous."
— Kin, Goblins
"Would you shut up? No one talks like that! You don't sound smart, you sound like an idiot!"
— Takn to Kin a few strips later, Goblins
Massey: Sergeant Schlock... What an exciting opportunity you have provided. Never before... Not during law school, not during my six years in private practice, not even working as a Public Defender... Never have I been privileged to give a subordinate a "dressing down." Such a momentous occasion deserves a diatribe inspired by tragic Melpomene, or perhaps comedic Thalia, framed within the gifts of Polyhymnia's oratory and rhetoric. In that same Hellenic vein, I have mused upon the upbraiding to be administered, pondered the possible punishments... And found, to my lament this condign castigation must be meet for your particularly picayune patois.
[Beat]
Massey: You idiot. We are going to get sued for your little shoot-'em-up, and it is going to BREAK us. Now go to bed and dream of poverty. I've got work to do.
[Later]
Ebbirnoth: Well? How'd it go?
Schlock: Massey beat me up with big words.
[Beat]
Massey: You idiot. We are going to get sued for your little shoot-'em-up, and it is going to BREAK us. Now go to bed and dream of poverty. I've got work to do.
[Later]
Ebbirnoth: Well? How'd it go?
Schlock: Massey beat me up with big words.
"My introduction will be sparse. There will be no majestic prose blustering into the sails of a galleon as we embark upon this voyage together."
—Rose Lalonde, Homestuck
Lemuel: ...Stop talking like that.
Duane: Like what.
Lemuel: Stop talking like some... ponce. Or at least stop it with me. You've been this way since you showed up.
Duane: I am educated now, Lemuel, and this is how educated men speak.
Duane: Like what.
Lemuel: Stop talking like some... ponce. Or at least stop it with me. You've been this way since you showed up.
Duane: I am educated now, Lemuel, and this is how educated men speak.
Agha: Lieutenant, you know I've become tired of your long-winded debriefings...
"According to my calculations, factoring an algorithm that considers our preferential dating choices in descending order, compatibility ratios, emotional stability, and remaining years of optimal breeding, I project that we have a 19.7% chance of a successful courtship."
— Dr. Marcie Duncan, The Petri Dish
Western Animation
Morty: What's wrong Rick? Is it the quantum-carburator or something?
Rick: Quantum-carburator? Jesus, Morty you can't just add a sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something.
Rick: Quantum-carburator? Jesus, Morty you can't just add a sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something.
"Solicitations malefactors! I am endeavouring to misappropriate the formulary for the preparation of affordable comestibles! WHO WILL JOIN ME!?" [gets promptly beaten up by barroom thugs he was attempting to enlist]
—Plankton, SpongeBob SquarePants, "Plankton's Army
"Here's your Saying A Word No One Else In The Room Knows Patch."
"And so I, Mojo Jojo, impart upon you the empowerment of Mo' Linguish! And with this power, you will no longer speak in brief, boring, abbreviated sentences, but instead will wow the crowds with your scintillating usage of an overabundance of nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, and of course the Conjunction Junctions which have a multiple of functions."
— Mojo Jojo, The Powerpuff Girls (1998), "Mo' Linguish"
Cloudchaser: What exactly does this machine do?
Twilight Sparkle: This is an anemometer, it measures your accelerative velocity and translates it into wing power, thus gauging your cumulative H2O anti-gravitational potential. [Claps hooves happily] Any other questions?
Flitter: Yeah. [to Spike] What exactly does this machine do?
Spike: It tells you how fast you're flying and how strong your wings are.
Crowd: [as Twilight gives an annoyed pout] Oh, oh yeah.
Twilight Sparkle: This is an anemometer, it measures your accelerative velocity and translates it into wing power, thus gauging your cumulative H2O anti-gravitational potential. [Claps hooves happily] Any other questions?
Flitter: Yeah. [to Spike] What exactly does this machine do?
Spike: It tells you how fast you're flying and how strong your wings are.
Crowd: [as Twilight gives an annoyed pout] Oh, oh yeah.
"You say 'tomato', I say Solanum lycopersicum."
— Lisa Loud, The Loud House
Amethyst: Hey Peridot, what do you call this? [points to nose]
Peridot: A Scent Sponge.
Amethyst: What's this? [points to eye]
Peridot: Vision Sphere.
Amethyst: These? [wiggles fingers]
Peridot: [annoyed] Touch Stumps.
Amethyst: This? [points to foot]
Peridot: [through clenched teeth] Gravity Connectors.
Amethyst: This?! [points to rear]
Peridot: THAT'S YOUR BUTT!
Peridot: A Scent Sponge.
Amethyst: What's this? [points to eye]
Peridot: Vision Sphere.
Amethyst: These? [wiggles fingers]
Peridot: [annoyed] Touch Stumps.
Amethyst: This? [points to foot]
Peridot: [through clenched teeth] Gravity Connectors.
Amethyst: This?! [points to rear]
Peridot: THAT'S YOUR BUTT!
— Steven Universe, "Too Far"
Stewie: [controlling a Peter robot] Alright, testing voice modulator. Blast you, vile woman!
Peter robot: Blast you, vile woman!
Stewie: Ugh, that won't do... [switches to "translator"] Pardon me, you, with the severe esthetic deficiencies!
Peter robot: Hey, ugly!
Stewie: Excellent! Ahahahahahaha!
Peter robot: Sweet. Ehehehehehehe...
Peter robot: Blast you, vile woman!
Stewie: Ugh, that won't do... [switches to "translator"] Pardon me, you, with the severe esthetic deficiencies!
Peter robot: Hey, ugly!
Stewie: Excellent! Ahahahahahaha!
Peter robot: Sweet. Ehehehehehehe...
Justin Beaver: I gotta keep [being in a book club] on the clandestine. 'Cuz if my vapid fanbase discovered that I enjoy fine literature, they'd shun me. I'd be anathema to them.
Sonic: (consulting a dictionary) Hm. His vocabulary checks out.
Sonic: (consulting a dictionary) Hm. His vocabulary checks out.
— Sonic Boom, "Vector Detector"
Wrestling
Vince McMahon: Hunter has injured his prominent proboscis.note
Jerry "The King" Lawler: Not only that, but he hurt his nose.
Jerry "The King" Lawler: Not only that, but he hurt his nose.
— WWF Monday Night Raw, 1996
Nick Bockwinkel: We have a tremendous audience of obsequious sycophants, and -
Bobby Heenan: Hey, hey - this is your induction, this isn't an interview or a promo. Speak English!
Bobby Heenan: Hey, hey - this is your induction, this isn't an interview or a promo. Speak English!
—WWE Hall of Fame, 2007
Real Life
"Write it in English, not in Pentagonese. It's not a launcher, rifle cartridge, 7.62mm; it's a rifle. Call it a compass, not a direction-finding module. And if someone insists on being called AdcomphibsPac, the Fact File should explain to those not gifting in garblespeak that he's talking about the administrative office of the communication services for amphibious forces in the Pacific."
— Preface to The United States Department of Defense Fact File
