Things I learned from watching TV/movies.

Whenever I use a five-dollar word people automatically assume that I learned it from a book. To be fair, I read a lot. I think people remember this about me because they find it offensive when I’m reading instead of talking to them, even though it’s not my job to keep them entertained.

But though I’ve been known to crack a few spines now and again don’t underestimate the power of cable. We watch a ridiculous amount of TV in my house, so much so that we spent about 5 years saying “I don’t think so, Tim,” have taken to smacking each other on the back of the head and call any one we know with a confusing corporate job a “transponster.”

The key to having a large vocabulary is to be attentive and to look up words you know. After all, you could read through and not pick up any of the SAT words if you don’t stop to look up the words you don’t know. Context clues only get you so far.

So here are some words that I know I learned from television and/or movies:


Machinations—evil schemes. From All My Children. Dr. David Hayward was telling his mother he was sick of her machinations, which is a bit rich considering he once drugged an entire yacht party.



Sycophant—a “yes man” or toady. From Gilmore Girls. Rory worked as an intern for her boyfriend’s father, Mitchum. After Mitchum tells her she hasn’t got what it takes to be a journalist (no specifics on why, and the only criticism he’s told her all semester) she freaks out, quits Yale, steals a boat, moves in with her grandparents and joins the DAR.

So when the boyfriend, Logan, lands in the hospital and his dad refuses to see him, it’s time for Rory to finally stick it to him.






Disinclined, acquiesce—don’t want to, agree. From Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I saw this movie three times and spent the entire summer at camp reenacting it. (FYI: Modern canoes can’t sink, even if you turn them upside down.) Instead of saying no, my fellow counselors and I would say we were “disinclined to acquiesce to your request.”

Line starts 5 mins in:






Sporadic—irregularly. From Clueless. Everyone seems to love Paul Rudd now, but those of us who were tween girls hopped on board that train back in ’96. I feel sorry for all the teachers subjected to endless rounds of “whatever” and “as if,” not to mention the plaid.

In this scene Cher explains to Ty (Brittany Murphy) the importance vocabulary building has to being a well rounded person. Starts at 5:33.