Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
swallow the dictionary en · VERB
Meanings
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(idiomatic, informal) To speak using long or obscure words.
Knowledge is deposited in (virtual and real) libraries. People who “swallow” the dictionary are articulate, eloquent and verbally dextrous. They have a greater store of words. Knowledge is captured in books, which is why the number of books in a household contains an excellent index of the social class of that house.
2011, Adrian Furnham, Managing People in a Downturn, →ISBN:“You swallowed the dictionary?” said Mrs. Black, with an ingratiating smile.
2014, Doris Lessing, African Stories, →ISBN, page 293:When I used a couple of words that an Uncle from the Boston States considered beyond my years, he asked me if I had swallowed the dictionary.
2014, Ray Simm, Hants Hills To Arctic Tundra, →ISBN, page 103:I swear, I don't know where you get all this swallowing the dictionary business!” - He himself never read anything but the ticker and the sporting news.
1918, The Saturday Evening Post - Volume 190, page 5:
Forms