Can’t get rid of this damn chair, can I?
Did I tell you about my first day as a DJ assistant? I got the name of “The Electric Slide”, wrong, and shouted out, “It’s Eclectic!”.
No, that’s not true. Makes for a good story, though,
I do have a true story about the word eclectic, though.
Back, (way, way back), I lived and worked in Greenwich, Connecticut. I worked in a small discount department store, where the close knit employees all felt like family.
The owner of the store was like a second father to me. One day he asked me about my taste in music. I said something like, ‘My taste in music is eclectic”. The boss looked at me, and said, “Don’t use that word here”.
I didn’t understand what he meant…..could there be an obscene, second meaning to eclectic that I didn’t know? I was really puzzled and upset.
Finally, I got it. My poor SAT mind was oriented to using big words. Then I realized not everyone has that broad a vocabulary. Some people wouldn’t understand, and the rest would think I sounded like a snob.
In short, don’t use a $20 word, when a $5 word will do just fine.
