File photo of Shashi Tharoor, Chetan Bhagat.
It is clear that you are neither Sesquipedano nor given to the rodomontade. His ideas are not adorned with tortuous convolutions and are expressed without ostentation, ” Tharoor wrote.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 14, 2020 10:56 AM IST
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Senior Congressional Leader Shashi Tharoor and author Chetan Bhagat had a rather interesting exchange on Twitter on Sunday, which made us look up our dictionaries, as most of Tharoor’s tweets do.
It all started when Tharoor praised an article by Bhagat in the Times of India titled “Young People Need to Close Their Phones and Ask About the Economy.” Tharoor called it an “excellent piece”.
Excellent piece of @chetan_bhagat especially what ails our country and what we must do about it. Chetan’s great virtue is the simplicity and frankness of his writing. His message is clear and I hope his supporters in government will act accordingly. https://t.co/j6vDHCe0SS
– Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 13, 2020
Bhagat retweeted his tweet and said he couldn’t believe Tharoor had praised his work. He then proceeded to ask Tharoor to praise him using big words next time. He also said that while “excellent” is good, a great word from Tharoor would make his day.
“Just one request sir, next time you can use some important words to praise me, like those only you can do. Superb is good, but a big one would really make my day!” Bhagat tweeted.
Tharoor obeyed. And how.
“Sure, @chetan_bhagat! You are clearly not Sesquipedal nor given to the rodomontade. Your ideas are not adorned with tortuous convolutions and are expressed without ostentation. I appreciate the limpid insight of today’s column,” he tweeted in response.
Of course, @chetan_bhagat! It is clear that you are neither Sesquipedal nor given to the rodomontade. His ideas are not adorned with tortuous convolutions and are expressed without ostentation. I appreciate the clean insight of today’s column. https://t.co/GI3mbnlion
– Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 13, 2020
Now, how many of these words seem unfamiliar to you? Okay, we get it.
Let’s analyze it.
“Sesquipedaliano” refers to long, complex and polysyllabic words. “Rodomontade” means to speak boastfully. “Unadorned” basically means that it lacks any form of adornment or any decorative element. “Tortuous” indicates something that is full of twists and turns. “Convolutions” is used to describe something that can be complex and a bit difficult to follow. “Ostentation”, while it may be used differently, here refers to an extravagant display. “Limpid” refers to such a clear, direct and simple style. “Insight” means having a deep insight into how things are.
Putting it all together – Basically, Tharoor praised Chetan for his simple and clear (limpid) style and said that he is not given to a long and complex form of writing that can be difficult to follow. Instead, go for a simpler and more direct way of writing the article that Tharoor greatly appreciates.
However, this is not the first time Tharoor has left netizens scratching their heads.
READ: Shashi Tharoor’s new book ‘Tharoorosaurus’ is not for people with hypopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
READ: Floccinaucinihilipilification – Learn how to pronounce the new word with Shashi Tharoor himself
A few days ago, Tharoor announced that he will release his new book, the Tharoorosaurus, which is a dictionary and thesaurus all rolled into one. The book that is published by Penguin Random House India and will have 53 words, one for each letter of the alphabet.
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