Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RODOMONTADE
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We have very, very, very great words to talk about bragging. The best. The best words you've ever seen.
When someone is bragging and it sounds like a lot of hot air, you can call that blo____ing.
When someone is bragging and it sounds like a loud trumpeting, you can call that fan_____ade.
And when someone is bragging in such grand, overblown terms that they may as well be saying "I can roll away mountains with my bare hands," you can call that rodomontade.
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make your point with...
"RODOMONTADE"
You know how the phrase "to move mountains" can mean "to accomplish spectacular things"? As best I can tell, the phrase comes from this Bible verse:
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (Matthew 17:20)."
Keeping that phrase in mind, let's meet a character who loves to boast about his ability to "move mountains."
Our word "rodomontade" comes from an epic poem, "Orlando Furioso," published in 1516 by the Italian writer Ludovico Ariosto. In the poem, the character King Rodomont is cruel, angry, and violent, but most of all, he's ridiculously proud and boastful:
"I am that Rodomont, whose martial worth
Scatters its splendour through this ample earth."
You can see why, literally, "Rodomont" means "(someone who) rolls away mountains." This Rodomont is an epic boaster, someone who claims to move mountains, either literally or figuratively.
And so, rodomontade is over-the-top boasting. In other words, it's bragging that's extremely exaggerated, the kind that seems to say, "I can move mountains."
Pronunciation:
ROD uh mon TADE
Part of speech:
Noun, often the uncountable kind ("under all his rodomontade, he's insecure") but also the countable kind ("her speeches are nothing but rodomontades").
Other forms:
Sometimes you'll see it spelled with an "h:" "rhodomontade."
People who spout rodomontade are rodomontaders, rodomontadists, or simply rodomonts (with a capital R, if you prefer: "don't listen to these Rodomonts").
It's rare, but we can use "rodomontade" as a verb: "there she goes, rodomontading again;" "keep him away from the podium; he'll just rodomontade for hours."
And, this is also rare, but we can use "rodomontade" as an adjective: "his rodomontade style," "her rodomontade stories."
How to use it:
How, indeed? To be honest, this rare, flashy, super-literary word belongs almost nowhere.
But that makes it great! Plop it into your conversations about politics, business, athletics, fashion, or any other sphere full of bragging, and you'll catch your listeners by surprise. "His tweets are 95% rodomontade." "I don't buy a word of her rodomontade." "Their ads sound like the rodomontades of a schoolboy."
examples:
"They wrestled the Americans toward the shed door affectionately, filling the night with manly blather and brotherly rodomontades."
— Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five, 1969
"He put his foot up on the rail of the boat, swung his arm landward in one of his burlesque dramatic gestures, and declared, 'America, I am coming to conquer you! Every man, woman, and child shall have my name on their lips—Charles Spencer Chaplin!' The rodomontade was a gag, but the essence of its truth was soon realized."
— Richard Brody, quoting from The Charlie Chaplin Archives, The New Yorker, 18 September 2015
has this page helped you understand "rodomontade"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "rodomontade" without saying "empty bragging" or "vainglory."
try it out:
In an article titled "How to Get a Friend Out of an MLM (multi-level marketing company)," Caroline Thompson explains one way these cult-like corporations, such as Younique, get their members to rope their friends in: rodomontades.
Members are encouraged to lie like crazy, bragging about their great incomes and their cushy lifestyles, all thanks to the profits from their MLM sales.
Here's an example of their rodomontading:
"Just had my hair done courtesy of my business! How amazing is that?! Not a penny out of pocket! I love my job! <3"
But, as Thompson points out, "according to the FTC, more than 99 percent of people who join MLMs ultimately lose money."
Still, unemployed people, especially young mothers, keep falling for those rodomontades, hoping to improve their own lifestyles. It's sad.
Give another example of real-life rodomontading. Who are the rodomontaders? Why are they rodomontading? Who falls for all that rodomontade, and why?
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month: Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. Try to recall its meaning, too.
For example, if I give you DYED, you give me EDDY. If I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. And if I give you COTERIES, you give me ESOTERIC.
Try this one today: IRONSIDE.
Give yourself 5 points if you can figure out the word without clues. To reveal the clues, hover over the blue text below.
Give yourself 4 points if you figure it out after peeking at the part of speech: Noun.
Give yourself 3 points if you figure it out after peeking at the definition: making fun of people (or things) in a mean or cruel way.
Give yourself 2 points if you figure it out after peeking at the first letter: D.
Give yourself 1 point if you figure it out after peeking at the first two letters: DE.
And if you'd like to reveal or review the word, click here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of RODOMONTADING is
A. BEING WISE.
B. BEING HUMBLE.
C. BEING CONSIDERATE.
2. William Carleton wrote, "No earthly power could extort a syllable of _____ from his lips. For whole days, if not for weeks together, he dealt in the most extraordinary rodomontade."
A. love
B. truth
C. apology
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
We have very, very, very great words to talk about bragging. The best. The best words you've ever seen.
"RODOMONTADE" You know how the phrase "to move mountains" can mean "to accomplish spectacular things"? As best I can tell, the phrase comes from this Bible verse:
"They wrestled the Americans toward the shed door affectionately, filling the night with manly blather and brotherly rodomontades."
Explain the meaning of "rodomontade" without saying "empty bragging" or "vainglory."
In an article titled "How to Get a Friend Out of an MLM (multi-level marketing company)," Caroline Thompson explains one way these cult-like corporations, such as Younique, get their members to rope their friends in: rodomontades.
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of RODOMONTADING is
|