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1727, Jonathan Swift (attributed), Martinus Scriblerus, or the Art of Sinking In Poetry Periphrase is another great aid to prolixity; being a diffused circumlocutory manner of expressing a known idea, which should be so mysteriously couched, as to give the reader the pleasure of guessing what it is, that the author can possibly mean; and a strange surprise, when he finds it.
Source: wiktionary
Rachel's talks with the vicar were frequent; and poor little Mrs. William Wylder, who knew not the reason of his visits, fell slowly, and to the good man's entire bewilderment, into a chronic jealousy. It expressed itself enigmatically; it was circumlocutory, sad, and mysterious.
Source: wiktionary
Another common type of error is a circumlocutory error, when the patient describes the item in several words (e.g., describing a beaver as "an animal that eats trees").
Source: wiktionary
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.