Pragmatism

Once in a while I get quite fond of the idea that others perceive me as very intellectual and cool.
Someone in the know.
Read the Time list of the 100 most influential persons in the world, where certain celebrities tell a story or share an anecdote of one of their peer-celebrities.
There, some star described someone else and used; pragmatism, and I do as always when I find something I don’t understand, grin and look very satisfied as I make space in the brain for it.
Problem is, when I tried to use it in a full sentence she just corrected me without flinching.
It so humiliating.
It’s always the person whom you’re about to impress that all of the sudden turns into a master degree professor of the subject.
I need to do as the wiz-kids in spelling competitions do; ask for the correct use of the word in a sentence, before trying it myself.