It seems to me that today’s three words are among the most obscure that have been suggested. Volant, it seems to me is very easily mis-read as violent, although volant– which means flighty, rare or poetic is a rather peaceful word really. The word pandect– which is more often used in the plural; pandects are an entire body of rule or law is an even more obscure word. By comparison, grandiose (the search term which brought up today’s futuristic architectural image) seems almost mundane. (And yet grandiose– which means imposing, impressive and elaborate is in fact an antonym of mundane.)
I am realizing today that in some ways unusual words can be a bit more challenging for these Just 3 Words posts. Here I dealt with all three words in a single paragraph and I feel as though I have done well by my readers to have simply explained what these unusual words mean. That I have not in fact actually reflected all about any of the words seems like almost a cheat. I am, frankly, un-interested in constructing some sort of pandect on the proper way to do social media. (Obviously I don’t believe that there can ever be one right way and that each user must determine for themselves how best to use different new communications tools.) And volant sounds like the sort of name Chrysler or Cadillac would use for a fast new car. And I do suspect that if they did, far fewer folks would ever question or learn where they name came from than translated the Chevy Nova into Spanish. (It doesn’t go.)
Certainly there have been times in my life when I could have reasonably been accused of being more than little grandiose. I am thinking at the moment of my senior year in high school when I persuaded my late Aunt Julia– a very talented artist who was years ahead of her time in practicing calligraphy– to hand address both the inner and outer envelopes for the hundred or so invitations I sent out to my high school graduation ceremony. Looking back I almost kind of feel sorry for my poor parents struggling to contain their oh so grandiose offspring. I seem to have lost the name and URL of whomever it was suggested today’s words. I feel badly about that. I am trying hard as I receive more suggestions to be sure of keeping the contributor’s name with his words. My sincerest thanks to each and every one of you who has suggested Just 3 Words for me.
Libdrone's Thoughts and Musings 
Grandiose I was familiar with… the first two I wasn’t. Thank you for the educational post and I’ll be trying to use these words tomorrow as I head out into the field for work. Have a great thursday!
Thanks so much for your visit and comment, Justin. I apologize that I have been so long in replying to you.
Well played Alan ! That one was tough and you did it with flourish 🙂 (e)abhijit
Thanks so much. I really do try 🙂
Nicely done, we learned something too… great stick-to-it-ive-ness… keep going!
I found myself for several days just not able to summon the mental energy to write. I am once again trying to get back to daily posts. Thanks so much for being a regular visitor and commentator, Vince.
Magnificento
This is a tough call but you have taught us all something new today Alan. Also the picture is really nice:)
yes, I thought this image did grandiose in a very appealing way. Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment, Don.
Nice CG Grandiose visionary scene! Thanks for introducing me to the other words as well.
Volant was new for me. I have a grandiose scheme to use volant in conversation today. As I am typing, I notice that even Google does not recognize volant….marking it as a misspelling.
The squiggly red line spell checker thingy does not know that many words. Even a slightly obscure word will often be marked as a mis-spelling. (Spell checkers are very useful but aren’t really a substitute for knowing how to spell correctly.)
I think you ought to challenge us to put one of these words seamlessly into our next blog posts. I ought to be able to do this for ‘pandect’, but it might take a while to do so without it looking unnatural in context. ‘Volant’ I agree ought to be the name of a car, if it isn’t already (what is ‘disco volante’?). Grandiose is I’m afraid a word and temptation I too know well. I love my cottage garden, but every time I look at another book on garden design, I am tempted to squeeze in another feature. Luckily I have a friend who forces restraint on me with the stern words: ‘Laura, this is NOT the Villa d’Este’!
mmmm. Laura, while I am so grateful to you and a few other friends who read and comment on these posts faithfully, it seems to me I spend so much energy just trying to get folks to read and comment here….honestly I’m exhausted merely thinking of trying to get folks to use these words on their own blogs.
Commenting On This Is Not Simple Without Context. Perhaps This Is Not The Best Idea For A Mission. Or Is This Human Simply Tired? Thank You For Being Authentic In Your Post. It’s A Shame That Pedantic Is Probably Now Only Understood By Those Who Are In Danger Of Being So. Have You Read George Orwell? Have A Wonderful Day, Human!
What a thought-provoking comment. I read Orwell many, many years ago. Perhaps it’s time for a re-reading. And you definitely have a point about pedantic, though your style of capitalizing every word seems rather strange to me….sort of antonym to e.e. cummings 🙂
Well, Human, That Is My Right & Custom As A Tantar! 🙂
Meh.
I once knew a gentleman who eschewed spaces after periods and commas as a complete waste of effort and pixels. It didn’t do a thing for the readability of his prose, nor did it encourage readers to linger and read for deeper understanding. I think, perhaps, it hindered any real communication.
“When in Rome,” Tantar.
I would suggest Verisimilitude as it’s my fave word and one I use reasonably frequently being a bit of a wordsmith myself 🙂
I’ve actually used that word previously: http://libdronemuses.com/2012/06/07/verisimilitude-ambidextrous-cuniform/
volant was new to me!
Would you believe that even though I have a degree in law, pandect was new to ME?
I’m pretty sure that no one could possibly know all of the words in English, there are simply too many. I’ve also come to believe that the biggest part of law and accounting is learning obscure vocabulary for things most people don’t talk about most of the time.
Like… eleemosynary.
For some reason, the word “puerile” springs to mind. Have you used that, yet?
I guess Volant must originate from the French word….interesting.
Very elaborate post. It made perfect sense and proved a logical point.