FWIW, I am only interested in economics as a hobby, and I knew immediately what Veblenian meant. It's a pretty common reference in the field. I think you raise

FWIW, I am only interested in economics as a hobby, and I knew immediately what Veblenian meant. It's a pretty common reference in the field. I think you raise a valid point about the impact of overly academic work, but I also think it's not unreasonable for academics to expect that their primary audience will have a passing familiarity with the major figures in the field.