Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Really, who is highfalutin?

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Really, who is highfalutin?

Someone used the word "highfalutin" to describe a speech by Mr. Viswa Sadasivan. I have never come across this word before, so I checked the dictionary. It means "pompous or bombastic".

I found nothing bombastic about the speech by Mr. Sadasivan. Guess who is "highfalutin" in choosing to use this unfamiliar word?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...: i bet when he uses the word, not many of the MP in parlimant knew what it means..; September 02, 2009 6:46 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: I can also use highfalutin words. Guess who is imperious and invective?; September 02, 2009 7:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi REX comments as follows
It is very interesting to note how many people are lazy in singapore including me. I think 99% of people also have not heard of this word "highfaluting". Yet, in various blogs here, TOC, everywhere, numerous, hundreds of comments on the viswa episode abound (i scan through all of them),over many days, hundreds of anti-??? mail are floating around relating to this episode. Yet not one even mentioned about checking on the meaning of this infamous word. Me including. I was just plain lazy to check.

It seems the only really hands on person on the online forums here, is Tan Kin Lian who actually physically took a dictionary and checked it out. We need this kind of character, to examine, to cross examine, everything spoken by any person, to check out whether we had been smoked out, to challenge, on logical AND NOT emotional plane.

I am now wiser person with one new word in my vocab databank. And i would like to conclude that some old people with high position in this country have bad vocabulary or leaky databanks, they talk nonsense and are rude. Thank you.; September 02, 2009 8:13 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Hi Rex
I use an online dictionary. It is called "Google search". It is quite easy. And I am quite up to date with technology. You can find many other highfalutin words also.; September 02, 2009 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Why use the word "highfalutin". Well, if you cannot convince a person, you confuse him/her. At its best you confound the other person.
FR WATCHMAN; September 02, 2009 8:20 AM
Anonymous said...: Hello REX comments,
Despite being so easy, we just are still lazy to check, that is the problem! That's why the banks cheat everybody! That's why the politicians cheat everybody!; September 02, 2009 8:23 AM
Anonymous said...: I am surprise that the 'Anonymous' person did not bother to check the meaning the word. I checked for the meaning online almost immediately when MM used it. My point is: Check and verify, do not assume things or get misled.

(NOT that I approve the elite or the brainy ones used bombastic words to shock and awe other people); September 02, 2009 9:09 AM
Sobri said...: If you are already on-line, to check for words just click on http://www.answers.com/ and type in your word. You don't need to look for a dictionary. You'll also get the origin of the word and example of the usage. Incidentally you can also ask other questions, e.g. who is the first man on the moon.; September 02, 2009 9:49 AM
C H Yak said...: Maybe he was in Cambridge, and the Cambridge Advanced Dictionary explains "highfalutin" as :-

"trying to seem very important or serious, but without having a good reason for doing so and looking foolish as a result"

Whilst the speaker saw "a good reason" in delivering his speech, the one who demolished it could not see "a good reason". The intention could be to make us all look "foolish" including the speaker.

This could be the antics in his rhetorics.; September 02, 2009 1:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Probably the MPs were thinking that MM was talking about cigarettes nowadays are high in nicotine or another religious cult known as 'hifalutin'; September 02, 2009 4:21 PM