--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: PERORATION, n. The explosion of an…" description: "\"PERORATION, n. The explosion of an oratorical rocket. It dazzles, but to an observer having the wrong kind of nose its most conspicuous peculiarity is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/ambrose-bierce-140_dazzle_peroration-n-the-explosion-of-an-oratori_502701.jpg" --- # PERORATION, n. The explosion of an oratorical rocket. It… ![“PERORATION, n. The explosion of an oratorical rocket. It dazzles, but to an observer having the wrong kind of nose its most conspicuous peculiarity is the smell of the several kinds of powder used in preparing it.” quote by Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/ambrose-bierce-140_dazzle_peroration-n-the-explosion-of-an-oratori_502701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/ambrose-bierce-140_dazzle_peroration-n-the-explosion-of-an-oratori_502701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/ambrose-bierce-140_dazzle_peroration-n-the-explosion-of-an-oratori_502701.jpg) > “PERORATION, n. The explosion of an oratorical rocket. It dazzles, but to an observer having the wrong kind of nose its most conspicuous peculiarity is the smell of the several kinds of powder used in preparing it.” [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A flamboyant speech dazzles but may hide unpleasant odors from its explosive elements. **In simple terms:** Grand speeches can conceal flaws. Key Takeaway Beware flashy rhetoric. Themes communication performance deception Mood critical analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - political speeches - marketing pitches - ceremonial to Key Concepts rhetoric public speaking presentation style Questions to Reflect On - When does style outweigh substance? - How can audiences detect hidden flaws? A Different Perspective The “powder” metaphor may be exaggerated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explosions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosions/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Rockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rockets/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [“His peroration, no doubt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/his-peroration-no-doubt/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr-2/) > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [“Be the man who has the spirit of a ruthless tiger, ravaging every dusty corner of my soul. Be the man for whom I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malak-el-halabi/be-the-man-who-has-the-spirit-of-a-ruthless-tiger-ravaging-every/) [Malak El Halabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malak-el-halabi/) > [“Everyone has one or two secrets they never want to reveal to others. But they also want at least one person to accept everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minari-endou/everyone-has-one-or-two-secrets-they-never-want-to-reveal-to-others/) [Minari Endou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minari-endou/) > [You may dazzle the mind with a thousand brilliant discoveries of natural science; you may open new worlds of knowledge which were never dreamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-philippine-duchesne/you-may-dazzle-the-mind-with-a-thousand-brilliant-discoveries-of/) [Rose Philippine Duchesne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-philippine-duchesne/) > [It is as if my heart and my brain did not belong to the same person. Feelings come quicker than lightning and fill my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/it-is-as-if-my-heart-and-my-brain-did-not-belong-to-the-same-person/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The Truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-must-dazzle-gradually-or-every-man-be-blind/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [There is a glare about worldly success which is very apt to dazzle men's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/there-is-a-glare-about-worldly-success-which-is-very-apt-to-dazzle/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [Scholes was playing tiki-taka football when nobody in England knew what it was. He was another of those players, like Denis Law or Bobby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-redknapp/scholes-was-playing-tiki-taka-football-when-nobody-in-england-knew/) [Harry Redknapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-redknapp/) > [There is a homely directness about these rustic apothegms which makes them far more palatable than the strained and sophisticated epigrams of the characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brander-matthews/there-is-a-homely-directness-about-these-rustic-apothegms-which-makes/) [Brander Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brander-matthews/) > [I do feel pretty lucky that I'm not so great at playing and singing, it forces me to make sure I've really got something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-lewis/i-do-feel-pretty-lucky-that-i-m-not-so-great-at-playing-and-singing/) [Jeffrey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-lewis/) > [May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the slickrock potholes fourteen miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/may-your-trails-be-dim-lonesome-stony-narrow-winding-and-only/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I dazzle you with that footwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-darin/i-dazzle-you-with-that-footwork/) [Bobby Darin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-darin/) > [How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/how-much-it-is-to-be-regretted-that-the-british-ladies-should-ever/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## More by Ambrose Bierce > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [RUBBISH, n. Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rubbish-n-worthless-matter-such-as-the-religions-philosophies/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There was never a genius who was not thought a fool until he disclosed himself; whereas he is a fool then only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/there-was-never-a-genius-who-was-not-thought-a-fool-until-he/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/telephone-n-an-invention-of-the-devil-which-abrogates-some-of-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Jealous, adj. Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which can be lost only if not worth keeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/jealous-adj-unduly-concerned-about-the-preservation-of-that-which-can/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [RIDICULE, n. Words designed to show that the person of whom they are uttered is devoid of the dignity of character distinguishing him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/ridicule-n-words-designed-to-show-that-the-person-of-whom-they-are/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Think twice before you speak to a friend in need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/think-twice-before-you-speak-to-a-friend-in-need/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hermit-n-a-person-whose-vices-and-follies-are-not-sociable/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/tariff-n-a-scale-of-taxes-on-imports-designed-to-protect-the-domestic/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [A bad marriage is like an electrical thrilling machine: it makes you dance, but you can't let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/a-bad-marriage-is-like-an-electrical-thrilling-machine-it-makes-you/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Explore all 1,157 Ambrose Bierce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## More Dazzle quotes > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [I dazzle you with that footwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-darin/i-dazzle-you-with-that-footwork/) [Bobby Darin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-darin/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the slickrock potholes fourteen miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/may-your-trails-be-dim-lonesome-stony-narrow-winding-and-only/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I do feel pretty lucky that I'm not so great at playing and singing, it forces me to make sure I've really got something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-lewis/i-do-feel-pretty-lucky-that-i-m-not-so-great-at-playing-and-singing/) [Jeffrey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-lewis/) > [There is a homely directness about these rustic apothegms which makes them far more palatable than the strained and sophisticated epigrams of the characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brander-matthews/there-is-a-homely-directness-about-these-rustic-apothegms-which-makes/) [Brander Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brander-matthews/) > [Scholes was playing tiki-taka football when nobody in England knew what it was. He was another of those players, like Denis Law or Bobby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-redknapp/scholes-was-playing-tiki-taka-football-when-nobody-in-england-knew/) [Harry Redknapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-redknapp/) > [There is a glare about worldly success which is very apt to dazzle men's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/there-is-a-glare-about-worldly-success-which-is-very-apt-to-dazzle/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [The Truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-must-dazzle-gradually-or-every-man-be-blind/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It is as if my heart and my brain did not belong to the same person. Feelings come quicker than lightning and fill my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/it-is-as-if-my-heart-and-my-brain-did-not-belong-to-the-same-person/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [You may dazzle the mind with a thousand brilliant discoveries of natural science; you may open new worlds of knowledge which were never dreamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-philippine-duchesne/you-may-dazzle-the-mind-with-a-thousand-brilliant-discoveries-of/) [Rose Philippine Duchesne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-philippine-duchesne/) > [“Everyone has one or two secrets they never want to reveal to others. But they also want at least one person to accept everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minari-endou/everyone-has-one-or-two-secrets-they-never-want-to-reveal-to-others/) [Minari Endou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minari-endou/) > [“Be the man who has the spirit of a ruthless tiger, ravaging every dusty corner of my soul. Be the man for whom I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malak-el-halabi/be-the-man-who-has-the-spirit-of-a-ruthless-tiger-ravaging-every/) [Malak El Halabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malak-el-halabi/) > [How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/how-much-it-is-to-be-regretted-that-the-british-ladies-should-ever/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [To dazzle let the vain design, To raise the thought and touch the heart, be thine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-dazzle-let-the-vain-design-to-raise-the-thought-and-touch-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) Browse all 114 Dazzle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "PERORATION, n. The explosion of an oratorical rocket. 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