Increasing your vocabulary

When I read the Molly Ivins article I posted awhile back, there was a phrase in there that I really liked...."And that's where the mule throwed Russell" meaning a point at which something got screwed up. Did you ever see a word or phrase that you really liked and make a conscious effort to work it into your everyday speech? I would like to use that phrase, but I think it would seem contrived. Maybe only in a situation where nobody knows me. It's weird how you judge people by the words they use. At least I do. Not judge really, but when someone speaks an odd word or an antiquated saying that has all but fallen from use, it impresses me. That person moves up a few notches in my head because they seem smarter. I don't think I'm the only one like that. I once had a man declare his love for me after I used the word picayune in a sentence. I was describing to him the recent breakup with a boyfriend, saying that we descended into daily arguing over picayune things. He stared at me for a second, quiet, and said "Did you just use the word picayune?" Why yes, yes I did. Of course quirky words didn't keep him around long....he left me for a girl that repeatedly said "skullduggery"....no, just kidding. Just saying that obviously words have power, but the words that you use also gently shape how people see you.