Word of the day

[George K]

ORIGIN OF ULTRACREPIDARIAN

Ultracrepidarian is derived from the Latin phrase ultrā crepidam, meaning “beyond the sole of a shoe.” The phrase is a reference to a Greek myth. The story goes that Apelles, a successful painter, overheard a shoemaker criticizing the way Apelles had rendered a sandal in one of his paintings. Apelles corrected the mistake, but when the shoemaker began criticizing other aspects of the painting, Apelles wasn’t having it. He responded with a version of the phrase, essentially telling the shoemaker that he should not offer opinions beyond what he is an expert on.

The moral of the story became a proverb, and a version of it was recorded by the first-century Roman writer Pliny the Elder. He wrote the line as ne supra crepidam sutor judicare, which translates as “Let the cobbler [shoemaker] not judge above the sandal.”

A version of ultracrepidarian is first recorded in English in 1819, when essayist William Hazlitt referred to writer William Gafford as an “ultra-crepidarian critic” (literary burn!). An unhyphenated, noun version of the word appeared soon after, in the 1820s.

Due to its obscurity, ultracrepidarian usually only gets trotted out when the speaker’s audience is well-read and likely to get the reference.

OTHER WORDS FROM ULTRACREPIDARIAN

ul·tra·crep·i·dar·i·an·ism, noun

[Doctor Phibes]

I'm an ultra-ultracrepidarian

[Catseye3]

@doctor-phibes Lay that on your Russian friend the next time you see him, LOL.

[Mik]

I have a new term for my brother. I love him but he does have a tendency to read one book on a huge subject and deem himself an expert.

[Axtremus]

Is there a subcrepidarian then?

[bachophile]

I’m antictepidarian

I don’t give opinions on things I know everything about.

[Aqua Letifer]

I'm an acrepidarian. I don't care if I know about a topic or not, or if what I'm saying is true or not. Just as long as it's funny.

[LuFins Dad]

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

I'm an acrepidarian. I don't care if I know about a topic or not, or if what I'm saying is true or not. Just as long as it's funny.

Well that’s unfortunate…

[Aqua Letifer]

@lufins-dad said in Word of the day:

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

I'm an acrepidarian. I don't care if I know about a topic or not, or if what I'm saying is true or not. Just as long as it's funny.

Well that’s unfortunate…

Your face is unfortunate.

[LuFins Dad]

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

@lufins-dad said in Word of the day:

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

I'm an acrepidarian. I don't care if I know about a topic or not, or if what I'm saying is true or not. Just as long as it's funny.

Well that’s unfortunate…

Your face is unfortunate.

And yet another example…

[Aqua Letifer]

@lufins-dad said in Word of the day:

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

@lufins-dad said in Word of the day:

@aqua-letifer said in Word of the day:

I'm an acrepidarian. I don't care if I know about a topic or not, or if what I'm saying is true or not. Just as long as it's funny.

Well that’s unfortunate…

Your face is unfortunate.

And yet another example…

Of unmitigated ugly, yes, I'm inclined to agree.

[Loki]

The origin story is the best. Good laugh this morning

[Ivorythumper]

This post is deleted!

[Ivorythumper]

@catseye3 said in Word of the day:

Used in a sentence: "Many people who write on the Internet are ultracrepidarianesque."

Today everyone is an expert on the Dunning-Kruger effect.