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.
Ionwanit
Created by: mamamia
Pronunciation: i-on-wan-it
Sentence: Since Randy knew that he was going to a xmas dinner at his grandparents house this year, he decided to wear his ionwanit swearter that they bought him for xmas last year that he had stored away in his closet. Along with the other ionwanit items that is!
Etymology: I + don't + want + it
Gifthorrors
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)
Whitelephantasmagoria
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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Gaudygiftredux
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: gaw-dee-GIFT-ri-duhks
Sentence: As he did at every Christmas, Elwood began his gaudygiftredux ceremony, dragging out several tacky and worthless gifts he'd received in the past in an effort to see that no feelings were hurt should those givers visit him again this year.
Etymology: Blend of Gaudy (cheaply showy in a tasteless way) Gift, and Redux (brought back; resurgent)
Stowmento
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /stoh-men'-toh/
Sentence: Reluctantly, Carlos pulled out the box of stowmentos from the attic — including the Elvis Presley drink coasters, the Marilyn Monroe lamp, and dreaded wall-hanging singing trout — since he knew the whole family would be stopping by to visit this weekend.
Etymology: stow - to store for future use (from German, stauen "to store away") + memento - a reminder of the past; a keepsake (Latin, imperative of meminisse "to remember")
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COMMENTS:
Hehe! - purpleartichokes, 2007-12-12: 19:05:00
Great word! - OZZIEBOB, 2007-12-12: 20:03:00
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Giftquester
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: gift/kwes/ter
Sentence: We have a box in our closet in the family room where we giftquester all the awful presents our relatives have given us and can be retrived at a moments notice and be placed accordingly some where in sight.
Etymology: gift + sequester
Displayaway
Created by: purpleartichokes
Pronunciation: dis-play-ah-way
Sentence: Every year, Mom gives me a displayaway or closet deposit for Christmas, which is why my good clothes and trinkets are now stacked throughout my bedroom.
Etymology: display, away
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COMMENTS:
Quite clever. Good one. - Tigger, 2007-12-16: 16:36:00
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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)
Prezzidigitate
Created by: OZZIEBOB
Pronunciation: PREZZ-ee-DIJ-ee-TATE
Sentence: Bob had just put away the kitschsake toaster-clock his mother had given him many years before, when he heard the news that his mother-in-law was on her way over to his place. Quickly, and in order not to offend her, he rummaged through an old trunk in his garage to find the indoor sundial she had given him as a birthday present. Fortunately for him, with good luck and a dash of good memory, he found it and prezzidigitated it, as a dragonsop, into a place of prominence and importance for her to see.
Etymology: Blend of PREZZI: (slang for present, gift.) & PRESTIDIGITATE: to be manually dexterios in the execution of tricks ; sleight of hand. KITSCHSAKE: Conflation of KITSCH(from German)meaning: gaudy, trashy objects or items and (OE) SAKE, as in "keepsake", meaning an item kept for the sake of the giver. DRAGONSOP: DRAGON-Slang term for mother-in-law or wife; SOP: Anything given (or done)to pacify; -- so called from the sop given to Cerberus, as related in mythology.
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COMMENTS:
Works like magic for me! - silveryaspen, 2008-12-16: 22:36:00
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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
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COMMENTS:
Nice - TJayzz, 2008-12-16: 13:14:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie Thank you kabloozie ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie. Thank you kabloozie. ~ James