CLAIM: Expagorate is not a word.
SOURCE: Rudo Manyere on X (formerly Twitter)
VERDICT: True
How many Zimbabweans have used, or at least know, the word ‘expagorate’? Some call it ‘espagorate’ and even have a noun to go with it – ‘espagoration’.
Many, if the responses to the post are anything to go by. Users even know what the word means.
@rudomanyere posted, ‘It still blows my mind that expagorate is not a word. Every Zimbabwean i know knows what it means!’
‘It means to explain,’ one responded.
An earlier post from 2020 reads, ‘It simply means explain way deeper than usual, more like explain and elaborate’.
A quick search on google returns a hilarious result:
The Urban Dictionary says ‘expagorate’ is, ‘A word that supposedly means “to provide more information” or “explain further” but in reality it is a made up, nonsensical word that is not found in any English dictionary. You are most likely to find this word on online forums where stupidity and ignorance reign supreme.
Girl: “I don’t get ,do you mind expagorating your comment so that l can get where you are coming from?”
Guy: “oh sh&#t! I must be talking to a Harvard graduate here; my bad. Yeah, I’ll expagorate it for you. . .”
And well, it is used online, here,
‘I respect you Mr Muzembi…very articulate, strategic and forthright;could be the reason why the late Cde Mugabe akakupai basa. Y’are very humble and non-violent. Most of your followers learn a lot from you like I always do.
May be you need to expagorate further for us.’
Or here,
‘Man was not created for woman but the woman was created for the man. This actually supports my point. Maybe you need to expagorate how that scripture is relevant to support your side’
And here,
‘Please share our page with your friends and families so that they can also get the full expagoration of the Scrumptious Menu we are cooking.’
Conclusion
Contrary to popular Zimbabwean opinion, ‘expagorate’ is not an English word. Or, at least not one that is used by anyone else except Zimbabweans.
But maybe it is time to join those suggesting Zimbabweans petition for its inclusion into the English dictionary.
