| abstract | - A joke based on describing something mundane using such technical language that it takes the audience a while to work out what's being talked about. Mostly limited to Speculative Fiction, where it can be seamlessly slotted into the standard Expospeak, but occasionally turns up in other genres, especially when the characters are meant to be especially intelligent or academic, such as lawyers scientists or doctors. Sometimes used as a form of Unusual Euphemism or to facilitate an Oops I Did It Again plot where someone assumes the technical explanation refers to something much more serious than it really does. Can be used to implement a Tomato Surprise, ("Their only weakness is dihydrogen monoxide!"), or serve as a MacGuffin as the hero engages in an Evidence Scavenger Hunt to work out what the Expospeak really means (For example, the hero is told that the Monster of the Week is a "lycanthrope", and then has to spend the next few scenes doing research to discover that "lycanthrope" is another word for "werewolf"). This second variety is dangerous, as you often run the risk of making the hero look like a complete moron if the Expospeak isn't impenetrable enough. The number one all time most common Expospeak Gag is, "He suggested that you perform an anatomically impossible act." Compare with Description Porn and Non Poetic Text Reflective Of Electromagnetic Waves Measuring Between Three Hundred Eighty And Four Hundred Twenty Nanometers. See also Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, Sophisticated As Hell, Layman's Terms, Blunt Metaphors Trauma, Narrative Profanity Filter, Call a Rabbit a Smeerp. Examples of Expospeak Gag include:
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