swallow the dictionary

Meaning: (informal,idiomatic)Tospeakusinglongorobscurewords.1918,The Saturday Evening Post - Volume 190, page 5:I swear, I don't know where you get all thisswallowing the dictionarybusiness!” - He himself never read anything but the ticker and the sporting news.2011, Adrian Furnham,Managing People in a Downturn,→ISBN:Knowledge is deposited in (virtual and real) libraries. People who“swallow” the dictionaryare articulate, eloquent and verbally dextrous. They have a greater store of words. Knowledge is captured in books, which is why the number of books in a household contains an excellent index of the social class of that house.2014, Doris Lessing,African Stories,→ISBN, page293:“Youswallowed the dictionary?” said Mrs. Black, with an ingratiating smile.2014, Ray Simm,Hants Hills To Arctic Tundra,→ISBN, page103:When I used a couple of words that an Uncle from the Boston States considered beyond my years, he asked me if I hadswallowed the dictionary.

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