January 03, 2006
the worthless word for the day is: illeism

[fr. L. ille : he, that one, that + Eng. -ism]
/IL e ism/ orig. a nonce word of Coleridge,
until jerked into current usage in referring
to pop icons, such as certain sports figures,
who became illeists; e.g., Herschel Walker,
Bo Jackson

excessive use of third person pronoun, esp. in
reference to oneself; by extension, referring to
oneself by name; hence illeist, one who does this

"For one piece of egotism.. there are fifty that
steal out in the mask of tuisms and ille-isms."
- Samuel Coleridge, The Friend (1809-10)

"Bo doesn't like that."
- Bo Jackson (somewhen in the 80s)

"In the published novel, Grimes relation with
Clutterbuck emerges from a series of coyly
teasing hints, and his dull admission 'I've never
really been attracted to women' becomes the
splendid illeism '"Women are an enigma," said
Grimes, "as far as Grimes in concerned"' - a
formula Waugh would often use again when
lost or despairing souls among his characters
reflect on themselves." (1998)
- Douglas L. Patey, The Life or Evelyn Waugh