Every discipline has its own specialized language, its membership rites, its secret handshake. In its most benign and neutral definition, jargon signifies "the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group." More often, however, the jingly word that Chaucer used to describe "the inarticulate utterance of birds" takes on a pejorative cast: "unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing"; "nonsense, gibberish"; "a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect"; "obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words." So when does technical terminology cross over into the realm of outlandish, obscure, and pretentious? And how can academics communicate effectively with one another without exposing themselves to the contempt, derision, or irritation of those who do not understand them? Academics turn to jargon for a wide variety of reasons: (1) to display their erudition; (2) to signal membership in a disciplinary community; (3) to demonstrate their mastery of complex concepts; (4) to cut briskly into a continuing scholarly conversation; (5) to push knowledge in new directions; (6) to challenge readers' thinking; (7) to convey ideas and facts efficiently; and (8) to play around with language. Many of those motivations align well with the ideals of stylish academic writing. Wherever jargon shows its shiny face, however, the demon of academic hubris inevitably lurks in the shadows nearby. Academics who are committed to using language effectively and ethically--as a tool for communication, not as an emblem of power--need first of all to acknowledge the seductive power of jargon to bamboozle, obfuscate, and impress. This article concludes with things to try for those who suspect that they suffer from jargonitis.