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Bill W

Bill W 47,212

Posted (edited)

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Circumlocution comes from two Latin root words: circum (around) and locution (to speak or speech).  It literally means: speaking in circles, going round and round in a wordy way without ever getting to the heart of the matter. 

Edited by Bill W
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Bill W

Bill W 47,212

Posted

Synonyms for circumlocution are: diffuseness · euphemism · indirectness · periphrasis · roundabout · tautology · verbiage · wordiness · indirectness · repetitiveness · long-windedness. 

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drpaladin

drpaladin 82,322

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I have to admit to enjoying leading folks on who employ circumlocution and excess verbage with simple and short responses. It's sort of like getting someone to swap $3.25 for a nickel.

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drpaladin

drpaladin 82,322

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2 minutes ago, sandrewn said:

Just the facts

Should we dub you Sir Joe Friday, sandrewn?

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drpaladin

drpaladin 82,322

Posted (edited)

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Surprisingly, no one has yet coined circumlocation. And yet sometimes I've felt I've been circumlocating for a very long time.

Edited by drpaladin
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JamesSavik

JamesSavik 24,837

Posted

Most people are baffled by lawyers' circumlocution. Why use a few well-chosen words when a verbose word salad can confuse, intimidate or cover your ass? Sometimes it seems if they are paid by the word.

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CarlHoliday

CarlHoliday 3,304

Posted

The best synonym for circumlocution I could find is sesquipedalians or, for the more adventurous, sesquipedalianism. 

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