Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. A message, which does not include a name, a number, or any other relevant information which could be used to identify the caller. v. To leave a message without identifying yourself.
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.
Anonymessage
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: ənänəmesij
Sentence: Joan*s friend Mary is one of those people who lives in her own little world. She will start a conversation in her head 5 minutes before she starts to talk to you. It*s your job to catch up. It*s no wonder that Joan*s voicemail is full of anonymessages from her. By the time the beep sounds, Mary is half done with what she had to say. It*s like coming in late on a movie or TV show, hoping that you can figure out what you*ve missed.
Etymology: anonymous (a person not identified by name) + message (a verbal, written, or recorded communication sent to or left for a recipient who cannot be contacted directly)
Speaktease
Created by: petaj
Pronunciation: speek-teez
Sentence: Carole threw her phone at the wall in disgust when she realised that the deep, sexy voice on the message had not left a name or contact number. "What a speaktease" she exclaimed.
Etymology: speak (as one does when leaving a voicemail message) + tease (provoke) + p****tease (one who promises but does not deliver satisfaction)
Callerhidee
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: kawl ler hy dee
Sentence: Ginger's new phone had all the bells and whistles and yet she still received mysterious calls from unknown senders. The person trying to reach her obviously had a callerhidee feature on their phone. After fretting for two weeks that she was being stalked by some masher, she went to the phone company. Mystery solved...it turned out to be a five year old in Buenos Aires who had just discovered his mom's phone and among other things, loved the beepy noises that the re-dial button made.
Etymology: Play on Caller ID (a small display that will show you the telephone number of the party calling you) & Hide (make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing)
Poltervoice
Created by: ShaggE
Pronunciation:
Sentence: "How do people expect me to call them back when all they leave is a poltervoice?"
Etymology: Poltergeist+ Voice
Phantomessage
Created by: BMott
Pronunciation: fan-tum-ess-uj
Sentence: The voice mail message was some woman with a squeaky voice who urged me to call her back ASAP, as if I could. Another phantomessage!
Etymology: Phanto: From phantom. -- Message: what we call our voice mails.
Blankcall
Created by: Javeson1
Pronunciation: blank call
Sentence: I HATE those damn blank callers! how am I suposed to know who it is?? I don't have voice recognition!
Etymology: play on the phrase "crank call" or "prank call" (only this one is not playful)
Voidmemo
Created by: allwise
Pronunciation: våid-mE-mO
Sentence: As the message unfolded, Jane figured it was a voidmemo and promptly deleted it.
Etymology: void - null - nothing memo - memorandum - message with information
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
I'm surprised no one has submitted voi(ce)dmail yet. It would make a nice accompaniment to this word. - purpleartichokes, 2007-03-07: 11:39:00
----------------------------
Braincrusher
Created by: josje
Pronunciation: braincrusher
Sentence: this message is a braincrusher
Etymology: getting all mixed up in thinking who you might have called
Voicefail
Created by: Sed8ed
Pronunciation: voy-sss-fay-el
Sentence: Once again, Wanda fell victim to several voicefail messages when most of the callers left no information.
Etymology: Voice+fail
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Oooh the best! - BMott, 2007-03-08: 23:56:00
----------------------------
Fromwhonication
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: from who nik kay shun
Sentence: Gisele hated the fact that all her 14 year old girlfriends left her messages, but she could not figure out who had sent them. She called this a fromwhonication and her friends could never figure out why she never called them back.
Etymology: From who? & Communication (the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by erasmus.
Thank you erasmus! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by erasmus. Thank you erasmus. ~ James
Jasper Fforde has just emailed me to tell me that he has signed his book and he is "dispatching" it to us asap, so we can award it to the top writer this week. ~ James
I have just added Gravatars to Verbotomy. This means that you can use a personalized gravatar icon to represent your identity at Verbotomy. It's easy to do:
1. Go to www.gravatar.com (It's free.)
2. Set up an account using the same email address you use a Verbotomy.
3. Upload an picture (of yourself) to use as your avatar.
Once you have set up your identity at Gravatar, it will be automatically loaded at Verbotomy.
If you would like me to create a personalized Verbotomy avatar for you, email me at james@verbotomy.com. I will be glad to draw a personalized Verbotomy Character just for you. ~ James