This blog is for everyone who uses words.

The ordinary-sized words are for everyone, but the big ones are especially for children.



Tuesday, 18 July 2017

Thing To Be Today If It Rocks Your Boat: flamboyant.

Flamboyance was originally to do with flames, but not now.

Just think: you can wear head-to-foot flaming crimson velvet and still fade stodgily into the background (for an example, see a curtain or a row of theatre seats near you). You can wear an orange silk cravat and still be the most boring (if visually painful) person in the room.

No, flamboyance is to do with the joy of being watched, a confidence in being admired, a happy contempt for those who fail to appreciate the wonderfulness of you. It's expressed in a bold gaze, a raised eyebrow, an elegant turn of the wrist, a confident bray of welcome.

It's being happily certain that no one anywhere will get even close to stopping you being exactly what you want to be.

It sounds fun, doesn't it?

I don't know, though. On the whole, personally, I'm pretty sure I'd be much happier spending the evening at home with a good book.

Ah well.

Thing To Be Today If It Rocks Your Boat: flamboyant. This word is French for flaming, from flamboyer, to flame.

Having said all this, if you search for flamboyant on Wikimedia Commons, you'll find that most of the images are of trees.


No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments are very welcome, but please make them suitable for The Word Den's family audience.