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laïus

long-winded speech, spiel

noun lah-ee-US Rare

Usage Note

Laïus is a distinctly French colloquial term for a long, tedious, or self-important speech. It derives from 'Laius', the father of Oedipus, whose lengthy discourse was a staple exercise at the Ecole Polytechnique. Saying faire un laïus implies mild mockery of the speaker's verbosity.

Examples

"Il nous a fait un long laïus."

Natural Translation

He gave us a long-winded speech.

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