Verboticisms

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: rəglē

Sentence: It was a wedding gift from Aunt Martha. It’s hideous. Nonetheless with her impending visit, the handmade rugly thing is front and center in the foyer. As long as it is on the floor, the dogs insist on entering and exiting the back door.

Etymology: rug (a floor covering of shaggy or woven material, typically not extending over the entire floor) + ugly (unpleasant or repulsive, esp. in appearance)

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Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: gift hors

Sentence: Christmas Season means family visits and redecorating to accommodate and proudly show off the bizarre previous gifts reveived from the visitors. When Wendy & Peter redecorated, they always included the present his Mother had given him and thought was a perfect addition to their lodge-like home, Billy-The-Singing-Big-Bass-Fish-Stuck-On-A-Wall-Plaque. She would repeatedly push the button and play "YMCA" over and over, laughing all the way. Luckily so many years of abuse had almost worn out his singing voice and Billy was now a gifthoarse.

Etymology: Gift (present) & Gifthorse (a gift (usually of inferior quality) that should be accepted uncritically) & Hoarse (deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion)

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Created by: andrian

Pronunciation: blos-ta-tiz

Sentence: The man in the picture is blostatizing a toilet scrubber.

Etymology: This is the verb form. The noun is blostate.

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Created by: kabloozie

Pronunciation: goo gahd ah full

Sentence: Damn it...where did I put that gewgawdawful your mother gave us - she's coming over in 15 minutes, and if I don't have that ceramic poodle out on the mantle, she'll know we hate it...

Etymology: gewgaw - a gimcrack or worthless bauble + god-awful

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COMMENTS:

Clever and interesting! - OZZIEBOB, 2007-12-12: 20:07:00

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Created by: karenanne

Pronunciation: whyt EL eh fan TAZ ma GOR ee ah

Sentence: Over the holidays, my house becomes a whitelephantasmagoria of sorts, as I rotate in and out the succession of useless and hideous items given to me over the years by various relatives. I have to keep a calendar of who is coming when, so that the correct one is on display on the correct day. God forbid I put out the horrid quilt made for my grandchildren by their grandmother, my EX-mother-in-law, when my CURRENT mother-in-law visits. She has an uncanny sense for such things.

Etymology: white elephant + phantasmagoria (a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined; a series or group of strange or bizarre images seen as if in a dream)

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COMMENTS:

Whitelephantasmagoria are kept in a special trunk...good word - Nosila, 2009-12-16: 22:15:00

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Created by: porsche

Pronunciation: kuri/oh/traw/city

Sentence: A curiotrocity is a curio that is so atrocious that it defies description. I have several.

Etymology: curio + atrocity

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Created by: xirtam

Pronunciation: ə-dôrn'moh-muhnt

Sentence: Prior to her mother-in-laws visit Lisa placed a bowl of glass grapes in the center of her coffee table. They were ugly, but they were a gift. So they were only going to be there an adornmoment.

Etymology: Adornment: Something that beautifies or adorns; an ornament. + Moment: an indefinitely short period of time.

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Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: gift hor rors

Sentence: Every Christmas, Chris and Holly looked forward to her Mother's annual Royal Visit with fear. Not because they were afraid of her, she was actually a kind and generaous person. No, they were afraid to drag out the gifthorrors she had bestowed on them for all the past holidays, to prove they liked and used them. The red rhinestone encrusted toilet brush (which looked so lovely in their purple bathroom). There was also the cross-eyed, smiling deer head to be mounted over the mantle. And the bearskin rug for the foyer...the koala bear skin rug. Add to the list, genuine ivory tusks used as coat racks;life-size gold sarcophagus of King Tut which doubled as a closeable shoe rack and their personal favourites,a five foot tall pair of the Dancing Hippos from Fantasia. Yep, next year Hawaii, not a fun old-fashioned Christmas!

Etymology: Gift (present;something acquired without compensation) & Horrors (something that inspires horror; something horrible) & Wordplay on Gift Horse (a gift (usually of inferior quality) that should be accepted uncritically)

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Created by: emdeejay

Pronunciation: Faye Solder

Sentence: Dear old Aunt Faye. She would be best described as having a heart of gold, being generous to a fault, and possessing a taste for the profoundly kitsch. The cupboards of her relatives were stacked to the brim with gifts ranging from the impossibly garish, to the patently absurd. This year, Jayne and John were taking their turn at hosting the family festive gathering. Some show of appreciation for Faye's presence would have to be shown, so after a short deliberation it was down with the Salvador Dali print, and up with "Big Mouth Billy Bass"! Fortunately the luncheon passed without major incident; the family chipper, overfed, and blissfully subdued. Suddenly, an uncomfortable silence fell over the mirthful murmur as Faye inquired: "John whatever became of that delightful water feature I gave you, or that fabulous paisley shirt?" Faceholder to the rescue! John strolled casually over to Billy Bass and just before pressing the button he remarked "Dear Aunt Faye! My shirt has been worn so often, it's at the tailors for a mend. But Billy you see is the pride of the mantle!" And the family, relieved, joined Billy in a rousing rendition of "Take me to the river"

Etymology: Placeholder: Object or entity employed until an adequate replacement can be found. Face (to save): action employed for the purpose of maintaining dignity.

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Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: site - el - e - fant

Sentence: Every gift that Jan's dad had given them seemed to be something he must have obtained as a "White Elephant" in a gift swap or, the only other explanation was that he shopped for them at flea markets. Whenever he came to their house, they had to quickly bring them up from storage so they could be seen....thus becoming a sightelephant until he left....

Etymology: Sight (range of vision, ability to see) + "White Elephant" (Gifts that are inexpensive, humorous or used items from home)

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