Meaning of swallow the dictionary | Babel Free

Definitions

To speak using long or obscure words.

idiomatic, informal

Examples

“I swear, I don't know where you get all this swallowing the dictionary business!” - He himself never read anything but the ticker and the sporting news.”

“Knowledge is deposited in (virtual and real) libraries. People who “swallow” the dictionary are 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.”

““You swallowed the dictionary?” said Mrs. Black, with an ingratiating smile.”

“When I used a couple of words that an Uncle from the Boston States considered beyond my years, he asked me if I had swallowed the dictionary.”

CEFR level