Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n., An ugly decorative item or article of clothing received from friends or relatives, which is kept stored away but ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice in anticipation of a return visit. v., To temporarily place an old, and perhaps unattractive gift in a place of honor.
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.
Gifthoarse
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: gift hors
Sentence: It had become a tradition at Christmas as much as decorating the tree and putting up lights. It meant Mother was coming to stay for the holidays and although we loved her dearly and looked forward to seeing her, we had to dig out that painting she had given us many years ago and hang it over the fireplace. It stayed the rest of the yhear in the attic. That's because it was painted on black velvet, with glow-in-the-dark paints, framed inside a gaudy rococco gilt frame. Yes, being his #1 fan, Mother had bought us a portrait of Elvis. Wearing a white jumpsuit, sneering into the microphone in his hand and tilting his pelvis our way! You could push a button at the bottom of the frame and tinny music of him singing would belt out. Our friends who visited over the years hooted and hollered at the tacky image. Neighbours would make the pilgrimmage each year to see The King. He was a gifthoarse that made people laugh and sing along. We always said we would pull him out for Mother's visit, so as not to hurt her feelings, but one of these years old age would overtake her and we would no longer be obligated to carry on the charade. It was then that we realized that the song he sang from the portrait, "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you" would become very poignant to us.
Etymology: gift (a present, something given) & hoarse (deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion) & old saying: "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" old proverb which means don't question how you acquired something or what it cost. The advice given is be grateful for your good fortune and don't look for more by examining it to assess its value.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Awwww. How moving. Nice work, Lady. - metrohumanx, 2008-12-16: 02:40:00
----------------------------
Crapsake
Created by: lavictoria
Pronunciation:
Sentence: Don't make fun of my sweater - it's a crapsake I got from my grandmother last year.
Etymology: crap+keepsake
Hideopresent
Created by: jajsr
Pronunciation: Heh-dee-o-preh-zint
Sentence: Knowing that his in-laws were coming to visit for the holidays, Bill's wife made him wear the hideopresent of a sweater that her mom made him for Christmas last year.
Etymology: Combination of "Hideo" from hideous - offensive to the senses and especially to sight; and "Present" - to make a gift to.
Ornamenstrocity
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: ohr nam ens troh sitee
Sentence: it took three men and a JCB to mount the ornamenstrosity on the patio, but a gift from toni was a gift from toni, capese?
Etymology: ornament, monstrosity
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
terrific word - Jabberwocky, 2008-12-16: 11:24:00
Great word - TJayzz, 2008-12-16: 13:15:00
Capese! You keep trying to put it away, but they keep pulling you back! - Nosila, 2008-12-16: 22:20:00
Fuggetaboutit! - metrohumanx, 2008-12-17: 01:05:00
Ornamentatious! - dochanne, 2008-12-17: 03:19:00
----------------------------
Presententious
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: pre-sen-ten-tious
Sentence: The green and blue speckled ash tray that Sam's mother made was presententiously displayed whenever the old bat came to visit, since neither Eileen, her husband, nor anyone else they knew smoked, except for Sam's mother.
Etymology: present:gift + pretentious: receiving or demanding a distinction of merit, especially when not justified; making an outward show
Sightelephant
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)
Tackytic
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: tak eee tik
Sentence: They made a tackytical substitution over the fireplace in the living room. The singing fish replaced the Van Gogh for the duration of old uncle chuck's visit to town.
Etymology: tack tactic.
Crappreciate
Created by: Nuwanda
Pronunciation: crap-pree-she-ate
Sentence: After hearing that his Aunt Marsha was coming to the baby shower, Kyle ran to the basement, dug out the" painting of the shore birds that Marsha had "commissioned" her best friend to do for their house and put it in a prominent spot where everyone could crappreciate it.
Etymology: Crap + Appreciate
Embhellishment
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: emb/hell/ish/ment
Sentence: Sally prided herself on her home's sleek minimilist decor and cringed in horror every time she had to bedeck the bathroom in the fuzzy pink acrylic toilet embhellishments her best friend had given her.
Etymology: embellishment + hellish
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Nice - TJayzz, 2008-12-16: 13:14:00
----------------------------
Movemento
Created by: silveryaspen
Pronunciation: move ment oh!
Sentence: My mother considered the oddly shaped, oddly colored vase high class. It was so ugly, I called it hide class. But I didn't want to hurt mom's feelings, so if she was coming, it became the gift of grab and display. The minute she left it was the gift of grab and hide away. It was a real movemento.
Etymology: MOVENTS, MEMENTO. MOVEMENTS - taking from hiding place to pride of place, then from pride of place to hiding place, repeatedly. MEMENTO - another synonym for a gift, especially a gift of remembrance!
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Movemento dear! Deliciously evocative of that sinking feeling of guilt :) - dochanne, 2008-12-16: 01:54:00
wonderful combo - Jabberwocky, 2008-12-16: 11:24:00
Good word - TJayzz, 2008-12-16: 13:15:00
I thought it wuz gunna be about an Italian Opera. Works well though. - Mustang, 2008-12-16: 21:01:00
----------------------------
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie Thank you kabloozie ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie. Thank you kabloozie. ~ James