CSOFT’s Wacky Word Wednesdays – Thrasonical

A little confidence can take you a long way, but arrogance may keep you stuck in a rut. In today’s Wacky Word Wednesdays, a celebration of the wackiest and most interesting words from around the world, we’ll come across some historically notorious braggers and explore the connection between arrogance and creativity.

Thrasonical[THRAY-SON-i-kuhl]Adj. Bragging or boastful.

Thrasonical is derived from Thraso, a fictional character in the comedy Eunuchus (The Eunuch), written by Roman playwright Terence in 161 BC. Thraso is portrayed as boastful and arrogant, thus leading to the formation of today’s wacky word.  First used in the 16^th century, thrasonical also appeared in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, with the character Rosalind describing Julius Caesar’s famous quote—I came, I saw, I conquered—as a thrasonical brag.

All of us are prone to arrogance but research has shown that people who are considered geniuses are more likely to be thrasonical. Researcher Paul Silvia and his team at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro uncovered a link between arrogance and creativity. The study found that participants who consider themselves creative scored low on a personality test measuring honesty and humility.

Beethoven’s musical talent made him both a genius and a brilliant composer, but he was also known for being egoistic. There’s a story about Beethoven and German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe meeting some royals; Goethe stepped aside, took off his hat and bowed, but Beethoven did not. After that, Beethoven is known for his boastful remark: “Prince, what you are, you are by accident of birth…. There have been thousands of princes and will be thousands more; there is only one Beethoven!”

As usual, we’ve provided several examples using today’s wacky word:

• Most of social media is inundated with vapid tryst, escapades, and thrasonical rants.
• Bob’s incessant bragging earned him a reputation as a thrasonical bore
  among his coworkers. (osdir.com)

Do you know any quotes that are considered thrasonical?  Feel free to share it with us in the comment box below.

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