He is not a very discreet individual
He is quite a lexiphanic speaker. Nobody understands his long-winded lectures
What is the dierence in meaning between ‘discreet’ and ‘discrete’? (K.V. Suresh, Vijayawada)
The two words are homophones — in other words, they are pronounced the same way — but they have very di erent meanings. The rst syllable rhymes with ‘miss’, ‘kiss’ and ‘hiss’, and the second with ‘meet’, ‘heat’ and ‘seat’. The words are pronounced ‘dis-KREET’ with the stress on the second syllable. Both come from the Latin ‘discretus’, a word which had two di erent meanings — ‘distinct’ and ‘separate’. Nowadays, the word ‘discreet’ is mostly used to mean ‘cautious’; a discreet person is someone who is very careful or very tactful about what he says and does. He chooses to remain silent rather than shoot his mouth o about something. He tries not to draw attention to himself or become a source of embarrassment to others.
My boss discreetly suggested that I should resign before charges were led.
‘Discrete’ is mostly used nowadays to mean ‘separate’ or ‘distinct’; something that has an identity of its own.
My favourite author’s novels can be divided into discrete categories.
How is the word ‘lexiphanic’ pronounced? (Satish Kumar, Chennai) This word of Greek origin consists of four syllables. The rst rhymes with ‘vex’, ‘rex’ and ‘checks’, and the following vowel sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The ‘phan’ in the third is pronounced like the word ‘fan’. The word is pronounced ‘lek-si-FAN-ic’ with the stress on the third syllable. In Greek ‘lexis’ means ‘words’ or ‘speech’ and ‘phainein’ means ‘show’; and according to scholars, this word was coined by the playwright Lucian of Samosata, in the rst century. ‘Lexiphanes’ is not only the name of the main character, but also the title of the satire written by Lucian. In it, the hero makes attempts to aunt his non-existent knowledge by using big words and lengthy sentences in his daily conversation. Today, ‘lexiphanic’ is used to refer to those individuals who wish to impress others by using big or bombastic words while speaking or writing.
I was never able to read his novels — he was, in my opinion, a lexiphanic writer.
What is the meaning of ‘change the channel’? (C. Banumathi, Trichy)
This is an informal expression which can be used in contexts other than when we are watching television. When you are talking about something, and the listener asks you to ‘change the channel’, what he is requesting you to do is to talk about something else. In other words, he wishes you to change the topic of conversation.
You’ve talked about politics long enough. Please change the channel.
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