Visual Dictionary: Turgid
It’s been awhile since we’ve done a Visual Dictionary post, but let’s take on the word turgid:
Turgid (adj)
1. swollen; distended; tumid.
2. inflated, overblown, or pompous; bombastic: turgid language.
What would you describe as turgid (or its synonym, tumid)?
Reader Thomas M. writes:
“My withering tomato plants became turgid and vibrant after yesterday’s rain. An heirloom tomato becomes so turgid that it will split open with ripe juices … the best tomato you’ll ever taste. Isn’t it amazing how a succulent plant like the aloe vera plant stays turgid in the arid desert, while a plant native to our climate would wilt and wither in the desert?”
From this Wikimedia page about cells:
Turgor is used to control the opening and closing of stomata, the pores on the underside of leaves. The stomata are surrounded by guard cells that can become turgid or flaccid. Stomata allow carbon dioxide into the leaf and water to escape through evaporation. They can control the rate of water loss from the plant. They also control transpiration where water loss from the leaves due to evaporation causes the flow of water and fresh minerals up the plant.
If an animal cell becomes turgid it can be in danger of bursting because it does not have a cell wall to protect it.
Metaphorically speaking, turgid language is pompous, arrogant, or just way too much for the occasion. See this post about “grandstanding” on 30 Rock for a similar idea.