To think some words don't belong in informal conversation

[Thrif]

There are certain words that, whilst technically correct, make a person sound completely up themselves when used out loud.

Whom is the worst. Whilst is another

Robert Louis Stevenson's lyrics to Skye Boat Song, for devotees of the nominative case:

Sing me a song of the lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

LaQ

I've only heard "my learned friend" when they're in court. But it is often said in a tone which implies "that tosser over there", to my ears anyway.

I'm afraid I use long words in conversation, but just without thinking. I just read a lot as a child and they seeped in to my vocabulary.

See.."seeped in"..can't help myself. Sorry.

Permeated would have been better.

I sometimes say or type something and then wonder myself if it is a real word or phrase and have to look it up!

I do change register and grammar depending on the individual I'm talking to.
Being a teacher, it's a necessary skill with children, other members of staff and parents.
Fortunately in my family, I don't have to worry about it, and we all talk freely. Even the large number of us who would sound 'up themselves' if we used correct grammar and pronunciation in the wider world.
In a previous school, the deputy head would hang up on my OH if he rang, because ''e's bein' patronising and 'e's a posh git'
Imagine if she'd done that to someone because of their poor verbal skills.

To those who read voraciously do you sometimes, even now, find that you want to use a word in speech but you have never heard it pronounced, only seen it written?

I have vivid memories of being about 8 and having read a lot of Mallory Towers. I told my mum off for looking at my in a haughty way, only I think I pronounced it 'howty' or similar.

She fell about laughing.

I read a lot as a child.

I've always been able to instinctively "get" how most words in the English language are pronounced even if I have only seen them written down.

Not all mind. Superlative and hyperbole were both ones I thought "that is so not how I thought they were said" about

Ah yes, hyperbole would catch pretty much anyone out

And even at uni, my lecturers had different ways of pronouncing 'oxymoron'.

Maybe my problem is that my family mangled even the most basic words. I had a lot of untangling to do before I could say anything at all

All you whom-lovers, do you say "It is I" on a regular basis, or even better, "that was they"?

I might say 'these were they', but not 'that was they'.

"awry"

I guessed right with melancholy and hyperbole and segue, but thought awry should be "aw-ree". I think because it is so short and unassuming-looking, I didn't consider that those letters could be pronounced more than one way. This happened even though I had heard the word "awry" - I thought it was a different word with a similar meaning.

I know many people have had a similar issue with 'misled', thinking it is pronounced "miz-el'd" or "mize-el'd", a different word with a similar meaning to "miss-led".

Awry, I can see that!

'tousled' is still a problem for me; I can't get 'tOWsuled' out of my head.

I only just learned how 'segue' is pronounced, I'd been reading it for years as 'seeg'. Likewise, I thought 'tousled' was 'tussled' till I heard it on an advert recently!

Frasier is a good source of big words.
Anyone remembers the episode when they take an autoshop class then end up being "the rebels" and write each other secret notes - in French!

priceless!

Nobody's mentioned whither yet. My DH's friend once said 'Whither jazz?' We still marvel at it.

I was once accused of being solipsistic by someone at work. I looked it up before responding. I had no intention of admitting I hadn't heard the word before.