twenty-five cent words

     The expression "a twenty-five cent word" means a very long word. It's not simply a description, but a bit of bygone reality.  Very long words cost twenty-five cents to send, in the days of telegrams. Other words could be sent at the rate of ten cents per word. If someone tried to save money by substituting one very long word for three or four short ones, the telegraph company charged extra--twenty-five cents per extra-long word.  I don't know exactly how long a word had to be to cost twenty-five cents to send.
     In some ways telegraph messages were a lot like modern "texting". Any word not strictly necessary was left out--because the sender was paying by the word, not because typing was hard on a tiny keyboard. This is still called "telegraphic speech"--using only the few words necessary to get a message across.