Or the interviewer was just intimidated, and he reflexively assumed OP is pretentious. I had a large vocabulary for most of my childhood in WV. Trust me when I say that you can dumb your vocabulary down considerably and still unintentionally confuse people. If that confused person is insecure about his own intellegence, he'll probably assume you're embarrassing him intentionally and lash out in defense. I can't tell you how often I got mocked as a kid/teen for "actin' all smart," even when I used the simplest terms I could to avoid that very accusation. :-/ I can understand not knowing a word or its proper usage. There are lots of words that I certainly don't know, and it's nothing shameful. I just look it up when I see or hear it used. But I can't understand both willfully choosing ignorance, and deriding everyone who does not. That IS shameful.

Same here. As soon as we were out of nappies (probably before), my mum would use her considerable vocabulary freely around us and never dumb it down. Often, if we wanted to know what a word was, she told us to work it out from the context. She still corrects me to this day, though if I ever talk anywhere near my normal level around my friends, they look nonplussed and ask what I mean by certain words. I'm not saying I'm smarter than these people (in some cases I am definitely not), but I certainly have had a lot of experience in dumbing my vocabulary down in order for those around me to understand it. All of which doesn't help when your teacher singles you out in class, and asks you to explain a word to the rest of the class. That makes you popular. Not. As TIJD said, many people can be defensive if they assume you're trying to act better than them.

I agree with you that the presentation should have been tailored to the audience, but there's nothing arrogant in trying to promote yourself in an interview. There are still a lot of people who don't have degrees, and pointing out what you have to offer that others may not is an acceptable way to get a job, and not arrogant.

You statement was fail, and it was so ironically fail, I actually laughed. Grammar is key in life.

She said extensive vocabulary, which doesn't necessarily mean correct grammar. This FML is turning into a haven for Grammar Nazis. :-)

Why are you assuming she didn't use the incorrect grammar on purpose? Um, I think it was pretty obvious she was kidding since she followed the bad grammar up with a quirky smilie face. Apparently, your grammar nazi skills haven't made your communication skills good enough to get an online joke that should have been obvious. Fail on you, not her.

That was the biggest win I've seen all day.