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Purple Prose?

Posted by Bob on August 18, 2000

In Reply to: Purple Prose? posted by Scott Marsden on August 18, 2000

: I know that if someone describes your writing as "purple prose", you are being overly ornamental and/or emotional. But why "purple"?? Is it just that purple is a rich and striking colour?

The Romans called it "pannus purpureus," a purple patch, and it wasn't neccessarily negative. It referred to a conspicuous passage of wit or descriptive spendor in an otherwise gray document. In our day, it's almost always said with a sneer. Purple (overly ornate) prose is out of fashion. The British still use the phrase purple patch, not much heard on this side of the Atlantic. Purple prose is common, though.

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