You might know the idea of the adjective unctuous by other words like "oily," "smarmy," or overly "flattering." When a person is unctuous, you can't trust their kindness, because they usually want something in return.

Interestingly, unctuous is derived from the Latin unctus which means "anointed with oil," which is

where the "oily" connotation comes from. Unctuous and "oily" are synonyms that both suggest

that someone is trying to butter you up; they're being nice, because they're hoping you'll give

them what they want. Talk-show hosts, used-car salesmen, people who want your job: all of

these are people we think of (rightly or wrongly) as being unctuous. Being an unctuous jerk, he

gave me a gift, hoping I'd give him a record deal.

DEFINITIONS AND USAGE EXAMPLES Pronunciation: \unc·tu·ous\

unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech

excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily

o “He seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way.” o “the unctuous Uriah Heep” (a character from Dickens’ David Cooperfield)

o “Find me a politician without an unctuous personality, and I’ll pay you a million bucks!” o ‘Nicky’s unctuous demeanor got on everyone’s nerves.” o “Because she resembles a famous movie star, my friend receives unctuous attention

when we go out to dinner.” o “He is as unctuous as they come and as slippery and lethal as a herd of rattlers in a

barrel of oil.” o “She was leaning on the car, eyes clamped shut, when an unctuous voice spoke in her

ear.”

o “Because she wanted to borrow his car, Sarah gave her father unctuous praise.”

SYNONYMS: buttery, fulsome, oily, smarmy, insincere

Directions: Discuss the meaning of the word with your students, with special emphasis on any variations or nuances of the word specific to your discipline. Consider taking it a step further by using one or all of the following ideas as you involve students with the new vocabulary. Remember to preview all content you intend to share with students. Not all items on the lists provided below are appropriate for all classes or age levels.

(English/Seminar/General Interest)

Charles Dickens’ character Uriah Heep in David

Copperfield is the epitome of an unctuous person,

the quintessential unctuous person.

The character is notable for his cloying humility,

obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to

his own "'humbleness".

His name has become synonymous with being a “yes man.” He

is the central antagonist of the latter part of the book.

Click below for a reading from David Copperfield—a description of Uriah Heep.

Click below for a movie clip from David Copperfield—a good way to illustrate how an

unctuous person speaks and acts!

(English/Seminar/General Interest)

Writing/Discussion Activity Ideas:

Focused Free-Write: Use the sentences as beginning sentences for original

short-stories written by your students.

o Consider having students focus their stories on the word unctuous and setting the context and

tone for that word to be the best and most appropriate word to use in their opening sentences.

o Students get 30-45 minutes to write their stories, and then read them aloud with a small group or

for the class.

o Variation: have the students write small-group stories with each student writing a sentence and

then passing the story to the next person in the group for another sentence. When finished, each

group then reads its story to the rest of the class.

Acrostic Vocabulary: After a discussion of the various meanings and usage of

the word unctuous, or after completing the focused free-write described above,

have students complete an acrostic of the word to

illustrate their knowledge of the word.

“Baby Kochamma recognized at once the immense potential of the

situation, but immediately anointed her thoughts with unctuous oils.” (The God of Small Things)

“Varys slithered to his feet, smiling in that unctuous way he had.” (Game of Thrones: A Clash of

Kings)

“The King's unctuous words were still ringing unpleasantly in Lydie's ears, when he put out his hand,

claiming hers for the dance.” (Petticoat Government by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness)

(Seminar/General Interest/English)

From Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Grima Wormtongue “advising” King Theoden

Grima Wormtongue was King Theoden's councellor. He was bribed by Saruman and twisted

King Theoden's will, until he was rendered useless.

Click on the picture for a short (under 3 minutes) clip showing the unctuous nature of the aptly named

Wormtongue

(Social Science)

“Why We Must Own up to the Human Cost of Our Obsession with Cheap Clothes”

From: The Guardian, 18 December 2010 “100 Bangladeshi workers died in a fire last week—just the latest tragedy ina country where 40 million toil for a pittance to keep our high street shelves stocked. Enough is enough, says Lucy Siegle.” The following correction was printed in the Observer's For the record column, Sunday December 26 2010: The article . . . said incorrectly that an estimated 40 million workers in Bangladesh sew 1.5 million pairs of jeans every year. In fact, 1.5 billion garments are sewn by an estimated 40 million people working in 250,000 factories across countries designated by the UN as the world's least developed.

Anna McMullen, of the campaign group Labour Behind the Label, said she was not

surprised by the latest tragedy. And she said the audits offered up by big retailers as

evidence of their unctuous supply chain management were virtually useless. "Inspections

in these factories are often announced, and even prepared for," she said. "So a tick-list

approach will always fail to check health and safety in any meaningful way. For example,

on a day when there's going to be an audit, the stairwells wouldn't have been locked."