--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our language, once homely and colloquial…" description: "\"Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms or it retreats from frankness into a stamm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png" --- # Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to… ![“Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms or it retreats from frankness into a stammering verbosity.” quote by Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png) > “Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms or it retreats from frankness into a stammering verbosity.” [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language can become pretentious, using complex words to mask simple ideas, or overly verbose, losing clarity. **In simple terms:** Language can become pretentious or overly verbose. Key Takeaway Prefer clear, honest expression. Themes communication language pretension Mood critical analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - daily conversation - teaching Key Concepts sociolinguistics verbosity Questions to Reflect On - How does word choice affect truth? - When is complex language justified? A Different Perspective Clarity may be sacrificed for style. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankness/) [Homely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homely/) [Homely Colloquial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homely-colloquial-4847285/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Homely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-homely-4847283/) [Retreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retreat/) [Retreats Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retreats-frankness-4847284/) [Stammering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stammering/) [Stammering Verbosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stammering-verbosity-4847282/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Verbosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbosity/) ## Related quotes > [The selective instinct of the artist tells him when his language should be homely, and when it should be more elevated; and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/the-selective-instinct-of-the-artist-tells-him-when-his-language/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/verbosity-leads-to-unclear-inarticulate-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He gave me a look of great contempt; as I supposed, for venturing, even by implication, to draw a parallel between a lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-gave-me-a-look-of-great-contempt-as-i-supposed-for-venturing-even/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [I unintentionally slaughter sacred cows in public venues and speak my mind even when I have lost it. I often open my mouth just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/i-unintentionally-slaughter-sacred-cows-in-public-venues-and-speak-my/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [“You have a faculty for defining the simplest in terms of the grandiose, so that a poor devil like me can't understand it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-bradbury/you-have-a-faculty-for-defining-the-simplest-in-terms-of-the/) [Malcolm Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-bradbury/) > [Verbosity was an established Victorian trait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-engel/verbosity-was-an-established-victorian-trait/) [Matthew Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-engel/) > [“Verbosity is the enemy of eloquence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-douglass/verbosity-is-the-enemy-of-eloquence/) [Rebecca Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-douglass/) > [“Your father had other plans for you. Alas, his breakdown and untimely demise derailed everything he'd worked to accomplish. He would not approve of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-barron/your-father-had-other-plans-for-you-alas-his-breakdown-and-untimely/) [Laird Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-barron/) > [“While I did that, my own eyes got wet, not fakely, and I blinked the wetness away because it was not my privilege to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/while-i-did-that-my-own-eyes-got-wet-not-fakely-and-i-blinked-the/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“While Nape was making the bread and Dryas boiling the ram, Daphnis and Chloe had time to go forth as far as the ivy-bush;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longus-longos/while-nape-was-making-the-bread-and-dryas-boiling-the-ram-daphnis-and/) [Longus (Longos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longus-longos/) > [Sesquipedalian verbosity is just another notion of challenging the zenith mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmina-siderovski/sesquipedalian-verbosity-is-just-another-notion-of-challenging-the/) [Jasmina Siderovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmina-siderovski/) > [“Long-bodied, long-worded Johnny cocked an ear. "A tintamarrous bombilation!" he remarked. "Sounds more like a fight to me," Monk muttered. Ham said, "That, short-and-hairy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-robeson/long-bodied-long-worded-johnny-cocked-an-ear-a-tintamarrous/) [Kenneth Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-robeson/) > [I also try to discipline myself when I get into a situation... and I'm trying to think of an answer, instead of being verbose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/i-also-try-to-discipline-myself-when-i-get-into-a-situation-and-i-m/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-draweth-out-the-thread-of-his-verbosity-finer-than-the-staple-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“You should really restrict these flights of fancy to your fiction, where I can redline them on grounds of verbosity and excessive allusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/you-should-really-restrict-these-flights-of-fancy-to-your-fiction/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) ## More by Mary McCarthy > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Yet friendship, I believe, is essential to intellectuals. It is probably the growth hormone the mind requires as it begins its activity of producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/yet-friendship-i-believe-is-essential-to-intellectuals-it-is-probably/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Any sizeable Portuguese town looks like a superstitious bride's finery - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/any-sizeable-portuguese-town-looks-like-a-superstitious-bride-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The desire to believe the best of people is a prerequisite for intercourse with strangers; suspicion is reserved for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-desire-to-believe-the-best-of-people-is-a-prerequisite-for/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [ “She considered \[her\] life, which had not been a life but only a sort of greeting, a Hello There.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/she-considered-her-life-which-had-not-been-a-life-but-only-a-sort-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [America is indeed a revelation, though not quite the one that was planned. Given a clean slate, man, it was hoped, would write the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/america-is-indeed-a-revelation-though-not-quite-the-one-that-was/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The happy ending is our national belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-happy-ending-is-our-national-belief/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Making love, we are all more alike than we are when we are talking or acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/making-love-we-are-all-more-alike-than-we-are-when-we-are-talking-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-america-children-are-instructed-in-the-virtues-of-the-system-they/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The only form of action open to a child is to break something or strike someone, its mother or another child; it cannot cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-only-form-of-action-open-to-a-child-is-to-break-something-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Combativeness was, I suppose, the dominant trait in my grandmother's nature. An aggressive churchgoer, she was quite without Christian feeling; the mercy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/combativeness-was-i-suppose-the-dominant-trait-in-my-grandmother-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently inhibited about the things that other women are inhibited about for me. They feel that you've given away trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/i-m-afraid-i-m-not-sufficiently-inhibited-about-the-things-that-other/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/be-truthful-and-pay-attention-i-would-also-recommend-the-avoidance-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [All ideas advanced to deal with the Florentine noise problem, the Florentine traffic problem, are Utopian, and nobody believes in them, just as nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/all-ideas-advanced-to-deal-with-the-florentine-noise-problem-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) [Explore all 154 Mary McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms or it retreats from frankness into a stammering verbosity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial-seeks-to-aggrandize-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial-seeks-to-aggrandize-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/mary-mccarthy-2691_activity_our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial_2202993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms…” — Mary McCarthy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our language, once homely and colloquial,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial-seeks-to-aggrandize-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial-seeks-to-aggrandize-our/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```