Bafflegab
Encyclopedia
Bafflegab [baf-uhl-gab] is a slang term referring to confusing or generally unintelligible jargon
. (See Gobbledygook
).
The word was defined by its inventor, Milton A Smith, as "multiloquence characterized by consummate interfusion of circumlocution or periphrasis, inscrutability, and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly utilized for promulgations implementing Procrustean determinations by governmental bodies." Thus defining "bafflegab" using bafflegab.
Smith was awarded with the presentation of a plaque by the Bellingham Herald for his invention of the word.
serial The Pirate Planet
, the Fourth Doctor
exclaims "Bafflegab, my dear. I've never heard such bafflegab in all my lives
," after Queen Xanxia attempts to explain how she plans to gain immortality.
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
. (See Gobbledygook
Gobbledygook
Gobbledygook or gobbledegook is any text containing jargon or especially convoluted English that results in it being excessively hard to understand or even incomprehensible...
).
The word was defined by its inventor, Milton A Smith, as "multiloquence characterized by consummate interfusion of circumlocution or periphrasis, inscrutability, and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly utilized for promulgations implementing Procrustean determinations by governmental bodies." Thus defining "bafflegab" using bafflegab.
Smith was awarded with the presentation of a plaque by the Bellingham Herald for his invention of the word.
In popular culture
In the Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial The Pirate Planet
The Pirate Planet
The Pirate Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 September to 21 October 1978. It forms the second serial of The Key to Time...
, the Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
exclaims "Bafflegab, my dear. I've never heard such bafflegab in all my lives
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
," after Queen Xanxia attempts to explain how she plans to gain immortality.