bloviate

bloviate
bloviate (v.) 1857, Amer.Eng., a Midwestern word for "to talk aimlessly and boastingly; to indulge in 'high falutin'," according to Farmer (1890), who seems to have been the only British lexicographer to notice it. He says it was based on BLOW (Cf. blow) (v.) on the model of deviate, etc. It seems to have been felt as outdated slang already by late 19c. ("It was a leasure for him to hear the Doctor talk, or, as it was inelegantly expressed in the phrase of the period, 'bloviate' ...." ["Overland Monthly," San Francisco, 1872, describing a scene from 1860]), but it enjoyed a revival early 1920s during the presidency of Warren G. Harding, who wrote a notoriously ornate and incomprehensible prose (e.e. cummings eulogized him as "The only man, woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors") at which time the word took on its connection with political speech; it faded again thereafter, but, with its derivative, BLOVIATION (Cf. bloviation), it enjoyed a revival in the 2000 U.S. election season that continued through the era of blogging.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • bloviate — lo vi*ate (bl[=o] v[i^]*[=a]t), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {bloviated} (bl[=o] v[i^]*[=a]*t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {bloviating} (bl[=o] v[i^]*[=a]*t[i^]ng).] To orate pompously; used especially of politicians and news commentators. Frank Rich (N. Y.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bloviate — ☆ bloviate [blō′vē āt΄ ] vi. bloviated, bloviating [< ?] to speak at some length bombastically or rhetorically bloviation n …   English World dictionary

  • Bloviate — To bloviate means to speak pompously and excessively, or to expound ridiculously. A colloquial verb coined in the United States, it is commonly used with contempt to describe the behavior of politicians, academics, pundits or media experts,… …   Wikipedia

  • bloviate — intransitive verb ( ated; ating) Etymology: perhaps irregular from 1blow Date: circa 1879 to speak or write verbosely and windily • bloviation noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • bloviate — /bloh vee ayt /, v.i., bloviated, bloviating. to speak pompously. [Amer.; pseudo L alter. of BLOW to boast; pop. by W. G. HARDING] * * * …   Universalium

  • bloviate — verb To speak or discourse at length in a pompous or boastful manner …   Wiktionary

  • bloviate — v. talk a lot, chatter, prattle, blow hot air (slang) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • bloviate — [ bləʊvɪeɪt] verb US talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way. Derivatives bloviation noun Origin C19: perh. from blow1 …   English new terms dictionary

  • bloviate — blo·vi·ate …   English syllables

  • bloviate — blo•vi•ate [[t]ˈbloʊ viˌeɪt[/t]] v. i. at•ed, at•ing. cvb to speak pompously • Etymology: 1850–55, amer.; pseudo L alter. of blow to boast; popularized by W. G. Harding …   From formal English to slang

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