I have occasionally (particularly in high school, but since then too) been accused of using high-falutin' language, showing off. My husband occasionally calls me "My Little Talking Book" in the ooey-gooey tone of one making fun of a person in love with her pekinese. So I found this absolutely wonderful:

In talking to some of my less-verbally inclined family members, I've occasionally found myself having to defend the purpose of hoarding an oversized vocabulary. Why, they want to know, does anyone need to know, let alone use, a word like excoriate when criticize will do quite nicely? Why discuss a person's proclivities, when habits or, if you must, tendencies does the trick? Why use obscure words rather than plain ones, other than to imply intellectual superiority? Perhaps some speakers or writers wield a bulky vocabulary as a blunt tool for humiliation. But I suspect that most are driven by the pleasures of being able to dip their brush into a nuanced linguistic palette.

It's from a longer piece from Language Log, whence I was pointed by Jay Lake. Thank you, Jay.