MY GUCCI WORDS - beyond the basic words

Certain people use certain words in order to show off. I call these words Gucci words. ... All in all, using these words it is not a bad thing to do, even for a non-native speaker. It is like wearing jewelry or nice clothes. It can give a good impression if done right. It can also be overdone! - Steve Kaufmann

I remember being intrigued by the 'I can eat glass Project' for this reason. The idea behind the project was that

people in a foreign country have an irresistable urge to try to say something in the indigenous tongue. In most cases, however, the best a person can do is "Where is the bathroom?" a phrase that marks them as a tourist. But, if one says "I can eat glass, it doesn't hurt me," you will be viewed as an insane native, and treated with dignity and respect.

So they translated the above phrase into pretty much every language you can think of from Latin to Klingon.

It's always nice to be able to reel off a fancy word or fairly fluent high-level phrase in the midst of an otherwise basic level conversation. It shows you have more up your sleeve than just small-talk. I think even the ever-useful Lonely Planet phrasebooks recommend you learn at least one phrase that you think you'll never need, because you might be able to alter it a bit and use it later.