“It was an eloquent software solution.”

Adjectives

I heard someone say this yesterday in a business meeting.

Problem:
He used the wrong adjective.

Explanation:
He should have used “elegant” to describe the software solution.

As Dictionary.com says, “eloquent” refers to speech or expression.

As soon as I heard him say “eloquent”, I expected him to make a correction. Alas, he did not.

I have to give the speaker credit for this: “eloquent” and “elegant” have the same number of syllables, start with the same two letters (“el”), and end with the same two letters (“nt”)!

Hearing what he said reminded me of the mistake of using “People take it for granite.” when what is meant is “People take it for granted.” instead.

Solution:
“It was an elegant software solution.”