Bloviation
Bloviation is a style of empty, pompous political speech particularly associated with Ohio due to the term's popularization by United States President Warren G. Harding, who described it as "the art of speaking for as long as the occasion warrants, and saying nothing".[1] The verb "to bloviate" is the act of creating bloviation. In terms of its etymology, according to one source, the word is a "compound of blow, in its sense of 'to boast' (also in another typical Americanism, blowhard), with a mock-Latin ending to give it the self-important stature that is implicit in its meaning.".[2]
Origin
Bloviation in Ohio was originally idle chatter.[3][4] As a form of political speech, it appears in the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the State of Ohio in the mid 19th century.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Joseph R. Conlin (2009), The American Past: A Survey of American History, vol. 2, Cengage Learning, p. 629, ISBN 978-0-495-57289-3
- ^ Michael Quinion (1999). "Bloviate". World Wide Words. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Allan A. Metcalf (2004), Presidential voices: speaking styles from George Washington to George W. Bush, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pp. 134–135, ISBN 978-0-618-44374-1
- ^ Paul F. Boller (1996), Presidential anecdotes, Oxford University Press, p. 229, ISBN 978-0-19-509731-3