sciolist n. One who pretends to know all, but actually knows little or nothing.
Another perfect asteism.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! I would like to introduce our final guest speaker, Mr Aloisious Prendergast. Many have commented on his erudition. In fact, I would go further than that and say he is a true sciolist.”
asteism n. an ingeniously polite insult
Example: ‘ignify’ is audibly close to ‘dignify’, but means ‘to ignite’. Tell your boss that you ensured their important email was printed off and thoroughly ignified and they’ll go away happy, not realising he or she has been ingeniously insulted and that you set fire to their message in the toilet while having a crafty fag*.
*By which I intend, of course, the English colloquialism for ‘cigarette’. I’m not suggesting one should indulge in cottaging or behave like George Michael. Unless one wants to.
Other Words of the Day that are useful examples of asteisms:
