Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To ask a someone a bizarre question in order to get them to think outside their mental little boxes. (And to see if they are actually listening.) n. A creative provocation designed to pull people out of their daily stupor.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.
Hawkinvestigate
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: haw kin vest igg ayt
Sentence: the hawkinvestigation of his neighbours washing line led to a big bang
Etymology: hawkin as in stephen, investigate
Prodvoke
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: prädvōk
Sentence: During his weekly meetings with his staff, Larry loved to prodvoke people to think outside the box. As he was being fired, he was reminded he worked for a packaging company and that people are paid to think INSIDE the box.
Etymology: prod (an act of stimulating or reminding someone to do something) + provoke (stimulate or incite)
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COMMENTS:
carton me, but a good story! - Nosila, 2010-09-22: 18:03:00
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Braintweezer
Created by: splendiction
Pronunciation: brain tweaser
Sentence: “Please don’t give me one of those braintweezers of yours right before I have to go to bed!” Paul warned his philosophy roommate Ato. Lately, Paul, Ato and a bunch of the others had been posing many mindbenders of eachother with sharp braintweezers that stimulated unused areas of the brain. “After the last braintweez, my mind’s swelling and redness lasted for days! I lost too much sleep with the throbbing thoughts in my head...although I did realize the world is really a shallow representation of the forms!”
Etymology: From the words brain and tweezer, to pinch; it is closely related to "brainteaser" but "braintweezer" causes more of a reaction in the recipient, more lateral thinking.
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COMMENTS:
Splendid word - silveryaspen, 2009-03-12: 00:51:00
Good! - kateinkorea, 2009-03-12: 22:04:00
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Yeastinflection
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: yeest-in-fleckt-shun
Sentence: Jeanetta had a very 'bubbly' personality and a bit of an off-the-wall skew on life in general and she often tried to get a 'rise' out of people by putting a bit of a yeastinflection in her approach and would ask seemingly pointless questions in order to goad her companions into making responses to what were sometimes very personal matters.
Etymology: yeast and inflection, and a play on words on 'yeast infection'.
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COMMENTS:
-oh, I wouln't want one of these! - splendiction, 2009-03-11: 22:09:00
You got a rise out of me, mustang...dough! - Nosila, 2009-03-12: 00:14:00
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Stunundrum
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /stun-'un-drum/
Sentence: Trying to 'chat up' the receptionist at the veterinarians office, Stuart idly asked her, "So why do they say you're getting your dog 'fixed' when really it doesn't work anymore afterwords? People ought to say they're taking the dog to get 'broken' instead, shouldn't they?" By the blank, slack-jawed look she gave him, he realized he'd overwhelmed her with a Stunundrum. He just sighed, sat back down and petted Rascal for awhile - at least Rascal seemed to pretend to understand his jokes.
Etymology: Stun (from O.Fr. estoner) - to astonish, overpower or bewilder. + Conundrum (pseudo-Latin) - a riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.
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COMMENTS:
excellent! - galwaywegian, 2009-03-11: 06:47:00
Perhaps Stu should've had the dog
TUTORED instead.... - metrohumanx, 2009-03-11: 21:26:00
Marvelous word - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:57:00
Really good word! I like the way it sounds :) Good Job! - abrakadeborah, 2009-03-14: 18:58:00
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Evoqunotion
Created by: kateinkorea
Pronunciation: ee VOKE que NO sheun
Sentence: Several times a year Dr. Miller would lay an evoqunotion on us, to get us to think outside the box. He would suddenly ask us a question that seemed very complicated and difficult, or even impossible. Usually the solution was to look for another way of interpreting the question. Of course he always used the classic ‘nine-dot’ creativity puzzle at some point in the semester-the originator of the thinking outside the box concept. Initially the students would stress over these questions for days, but near the end of the semester the students were waiting with bated breath for the next one to come out.
Etymology: EVOKE: prompt, spur QUERY: question NOTION: idea EVOLUTION: change over time
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COMMENTS:
what a foxy outboxy creative sentence. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:41:00
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Freaquest
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: free kwest
Sentence: She was very pretty, but complying with her freaquest would have involved a misdemeanor, two felonies and at least four visits to a chiropractor
Etymology: request, freak
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COMMENTS:
that must have been one freaky question - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-11: 11:23:00
very freakgestive - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:46:00
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Queery
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: kwee ree
Sentence: When Nate stopped the lady at Home Depot, he asked her a real queery. He wanted to know if they sold motorized wheelbarrows or self-propelled ones. After she realized he might just be serious, she gave hm her polite answers...you just never know when Candid Camera might be lurking around...
Etymology: Query (an instance of questioning;pose a question)& Queer (beyond or deviating from the usual or expected;not as expected)
Zenquiry
Created by: bookowl
Pronunciation: zen-kwire/ee
Sentence: A zenquiry requires complete silence and meditation. The questions are open to interpretation and often surprising.
Etymology: zen + enquiry
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James