Decoding Shashi Tharoor’s verbose praise for Chetan Bhagat

Tharoor noted that Bhagat was neither sesquipedalian nor given to rodomontadevain

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Known for his varied vocabulary, Shashi Tharoor often makes the Twitterati happy with tweets featuring words that are not often heard—due either to their length or obscurity. On Sunday, Chetan Bhagat got to experience this firsthand.

Tharoor shared an article Bhagat had recently penned calling for the youth to ask more questions about the economy. “Superb piece by @chetan_bhagat on all that ails our country & what we should do about it. Chetan’s great virtue is the simplicity and directness of his writing. His message is clear & I hope his fans in the government act on it,” Tharoor tweeted.

Bhagat saw the tweet and replied, asking Tharoor to praise him with bigger words than “superb”.

“Ok I still can’t get over this. The @ShashiTharoor has praised @chetanbhagat. I am floating. Just one request sir, next time can you use some big words to praise me, like ones that only you can do. Superb is nice but a big one would really make my day!”Bhagat tweeted,

Tharoor then obliged in characteristic fashion.

“Sure, @chetan_bhagat! It’s clear you are not sesquipedalian nor given to Rodomontadevain. Your ideas are unembellished with tortuous convolutions & expressed without ostentation. I appreciate the limpid perspicacity of today’s column.”

Bhagat then retweeted it and said he would frame the reply.

With thousands of retweets and tens of thousands of likes, Tharoor’s verbose response was a hit on Twitter. But, was it a compliment?

Here are the definitions of each of the words he used.

Sesquipedalian: Given to or characterized by the use of long words

Rodomontadevain: Boasting or bluster

Unembellished: Lacking embellishment or elaboration (as with decorative elements or fanciful details)

Tortuous: Marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns

Convolutions: A complication or intricacy of form, design, or structure

Ostentation: Excessive display

Limpid: Clear and simple in style

Perspicacity: Of acute mental vision or discernment

In essence, Tharoor was praising Bhagat for writing without using unnecessarily long words and with clear and simple style.

While Tharoor is known for his lengthy words, when he is not making them in jest he uses them with careful intent. As he tweeted in 2017, “To all the well-meaning folks who send me parodies of my supposed speaking/writing style: The purpose of speaking or writing is to communicate w/ precision. I choose my words because they are the best ones for the idea i want to convey, not the most obscure or rodomontade ones!”

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