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'My mother is a washing machine'

DEFINITION: n. The sacrifice a mother makes when she gives everything to her children, including life itself, and then simply lets them go. v. To give someone everything and then watch them walk away.

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Verboticisms

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Parentharsis

Created by: Discoveria

Pronunciation: parr-EN-far-siss

Sentence: After her son Jack left home to start at university, Mary felt a great sense of parentharsis.

Etymology: parent + catharsis (release from strong emotions)

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Mumlinquish

Created by: fredm

Pronunciation:

Sentence: "Typical mumlinquish behaviour", exclaimed the conductor as she forced her children onto the bus, knowing she would have to wait for the next one.

Etymology: Mum + relinquish

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Mudderlode

Created by: Jabberwocky

Pronunciation: mudd/ur/lode

Sentence: Breastfeeding five children over a span of eighteen years demonstates a mudderlode of motherly love.

Etymology: mother lode + udder

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Momligation

Created by: Clayton

Pronunciation: mom-li-GEY-shuhn

Sentence: Momligation is bittersweet, but it was Linda's prostitutelage that became the subject of some concern.

Etymology: mom + obligation

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COMMENTS:

and possibly some momlitigation! - galwaywegian, 2007-05-11: 06:29:00

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Fledglemming

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: flejlemng

Sentence: Joyce watched with angst as her fledglemming packed to go off to college. Sure she and his father have given Jason great life lessons and done their best to prepare him for this day, he seems to be taking it much too casually. With a simple hug and kiss he is off to act as if he knows how to make his own decisions like an adult.

Etymology: fledgling (a young bird that has just fledged) + lemming (a person who unthinkingly joins a mass movement, esp. a headlong rush to destruction)

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Matrelease

Created by: serendipity9000

Pronunciation: mat-ree-lease

Sentence: After so many years of sacrifice for her babies, it was finally matrelease time - time to set them free.

Etymology: Mat (from maternal) + release

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Emomcipate

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: e/mom/suh/-peyt

Sentence: After nine months of eating all the right foods,countless nights of discomfort and no drugs , or alcohol, she was ready to emomcipate her child.

Etymology: mom + emancipate

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COMMENTS:

whipspeak my favorite so far... - whipspeak, 2009-11-27: 10:28:00

good one - Nosila, 2009-11-29: 11:58:00

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Pansacrifigo

Created by: duchessella

Pronunciation: pan-SA-cri-fi-go

Sentence: Lily Potter, mother of Harry Potter, is the prodigo of pansacrifigo. (prodigo of pansacrifigo... it sounds NICE!)

Etymology: Pan (all) + sacrifice + go And it sounds very Spanish!

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Matridoricide

Created by: cohenarie

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology: latin words for mother, gift and murder

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Maternityield

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: ma-TURN-et-yield

Sentence: Maternityield manifests itself in many ways throughout the lifecycle. First she yields physically, then has to give up full control of her career and lifestyle, and eventually her car (and don't forget to top up the petrol before you get home, drive carefully) and then after all those years the little darlings take off leaving her in an empty nest.

Etymology: maternity + yield

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 04:01:00
Today's definition was inspired by Cory Doctorow's novel Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, which is a story about a guy who's mother is literally a washing machine. It's a great read! And since this weekend is Mother's Day, it seems like the perfect fit! I was also thinking about "After the Siege" in Overclocked, where a mother pushes herself beyond exhaustion trying to save her child - the sacrifice. And purpleartichokes inadvertently suggested the mother idea with her comments on the younger degeneration. Thank you Cory and purpleartichokes! ~ James

ErWenn - 2007-05-11: 09:39:00
I noticed that many verbotomists focussed on the "letting go" part of the definition as the key, while others treated it as just one small part of the maternal sacrifice. I'm sure it says something about our personalities, but I'm not sure what.

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 03:23:00
We have posted The Petaj Splinterview on the Verbotomy Blog. ~ James

Bulletchewer - 2007-05-11: 16:55:00
I "have issues" because I advocate free speech as opposed to miserable hypocrisy of censorship? HUSH

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 17:17:00
Hey Bulletchewer, I replaced four letters in your message with non-alphanumeric symbols. Did that make you unhappy? ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 18:59:00
Hey ErWenn, I agree with you. The words and language we choose to use do indeed reflect our personalities. And with a definition like today's, there are many different viewpoints, so it gets complicated... I guess that's why they have Freudian psychiatrists. ~ James

Bulletchewer - 2007-05-11: 19:18:00
It made me THE most $@*#ing miserable crybaby in the whole world! Just kidding.

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 20:20:00
Me too. But that's okay, it's a game ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-11: 20:21:00
Anyways, in many parts of the world, this Sunday is Mother's Day, so I would like to remind all our verbotomists to take appropriate action (e.g. buy flowers). And to all our verbotomists who happen to be mothers, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for your wonderful creativity. ~ James

ohwtepph ohwtepph - 2007-05-11: 20:53:00
*gasp* I am so honored. Petaj used my word TWICE!!! in his splinterview. Now, I can die peacefully.

Clayton - 2007-05-12: 17:21:00
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the highest scoring words often do not reflect the part of speech suggested by the definition? Occasionally, this can be somewhat difficult to determine from a given description, but "the sacrifice a mother makes" clearly indicates that this word is meant to be a noun. Just nitpicking.

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-12: 23:53:00
Hey Clayton, I have made a blog posting about this question. See: Parts of Speech and Verbotomy. It will be very interesting to hear what ErWenn has to say about this issue, since he also asked similar questions. ~ James

petaj petaj - 2007-05-13: 00:47:00
Clearly I should have mentioned that ohwtepph can also be relied on for coming up with not only amusing words, but very useful additions to everyday language.

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-11-27: 00:01:00
Today's definition was suggested by doctorow. Thank you doctorow. ~ James