ArtLex art dictionary

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hooptedoodle - A literary word that, technically, has no place being in this dictionary. Stuff that gets in the way of a story's making progress, it is wordy, unnecessary, space-taking, and, typically, should be edited out. Related to balderdash, folderol, flummery, foolishness, and fill; nonsense, prattle, blather, bombast, and baloney.

Quotes about hooptedoodle:

"I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks. . . . figure out what the guy's thinking from what he says. I like some description but not too much of that. . . . Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle. . . . Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That's nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don't have to read it. I don't want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story."

Spoken by a character in a novel by John Steinbeck (1902-1968), American writer. Sweet Thursday, 1954, as quoted in the New York Times, July 16, 2001 thus,

"What Steinbeck did in Sweet Thursday was title his chapters as an indication, though obscure, of what they cover. 'Whom the Gods Love They Drive Nuts' is one, 'Lousy Wednesday' is another. The third chapter is titled "Hooptedoodle 1" and the 38th chapter 'Hooptedoodle 2' as warnings to the reader, as if Steinbeck is saying: 'Here's where you'll see me taking flights of fancy with my writing, and it won't get in the way of the story. Skip them if you want.'"

Elmore Leonard, American novelist, temporary link New York Times, July 16, 2001.
Also see bad art, banausic, bric-a-brac, brummagem, camp, decoration, decorative, decorative arts, gewgaw, kitsch, ornament, taste, and tchotchke.

Also see the entry below, referring to Making Light's discussion of Elmore Leonard's discussion ... <starting to feel giddy, I'm circling so fast>

[permalink][comment] - posted by Mez @ 2/26/2004 12:45:00 pm