I'd argue that you just described the point where 'erudite' becomes 'pretentious'. I'm a voracious reader and a huge fan of 'unusual' words, for some reason (p

I'd argue that you just described the point where 'erudite' becomes 'pretentious'. I'm a voracious reader and a huge fan of 'unusual' words, for some reason (perhaps because I learned English through books).My general approach to language is sometimes judged to be 'pretentious' or at least 'bookish' by people who don't know me well. Once they do, though, they realize that I just love playing with words and language. While I don't shy away from using words that aren't too common, I always try to make sure to avoid needless complications, and I regularly rewrite sentences to make them easier to understand (while still using 'big' words because I just like them, or they best describe what I'm trying to convey). The New Yorker often seems to cross the line between enjoying the richness of the English language and deliberately overcomplicating things. I don't really understand why, unless the goal is to be pretentious.