Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n., The fear that your service representative will retaliate after you have complained. v., To be afraid of bad service because you complained about it.
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.
Venjitters
Created by: ErWenn
Pronunciation: /ˌvɛnˈdʒɪdɚz/
Sentence: After publishing a severe critique of the way government officials had arrested a reporter with dissenting views, the journalist got a severe case of the venjitters.
Etymology: from Anglo-French "venger", meaning "to avenge" (as in English "avenge", "revenge", and "vengeance") + "jitters" (unknown origin)
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COMMENTS:
I like the sound of it. - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-30: 12:20:00
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Gripesniperr
Created by: metrohumanx
Pronunciation: gripe-SNIPE-air.....(can be pronounced with a mock French accent)
Sentence: Petula stopped at the local Serbo-Croatian restaurant on the way home from her assertiveness training seminar. The tripe was not up to snuff, and when the waiter brought her a flaccid eclair, she sent it back to the chef after browbeating the waiter who delivered it. As the minutes crawled ominously by, Petula was seized by a sudden GRIPESNIPERR....perhaps she was being too hard on the "Beav"- he was only waiting tables to pay off that AK-47 he brought from his homeland. An exorbitant tip might compensate for her hasty harangue, but by then it could be too late....Milosh might be a real GRIPESNIPER....err....."Czech, Please."
Etymology: GRIPE+SNIPE+ERR=GRIPESNIPERR...........GRIPE:to complain with grumbling;Middle English, from Old English grīpan; akin to Old High German grīfan to grasp, Lithuanian griebti.....SNIPE:shoot at exposed individuals from a usually concealed point of vantage.....ERR:to make a mistake,to violate an accepted standard of conduct, especially in an eatery of suspiciously vague ethnic origin; Middle English, from Anglo-French errer, from Latin errare to wander, err; akin to Old English ierre wandering, perverse, Gothic airzeis deceived.
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COMMENTS:
Can't identify that snack? Lookee here:
http://www.hanttula.com/exhibits/mofa/ - metrohumanx, 2008-10-28: 01:47:00
Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you! ~Tommy Smothers
- metrohumanx, 2008-10-28: 02:11:00
merde! she got away just in time - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-28: 12:59:00
Yes, Petula was just being Prague-matic! - Nosila, 2008-10-28: 13:59:00
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Disdress
Created by: attis
Pronunciation:
Sentence: After asking to speak to the manager, Helen was overcome with Disdress. After all, the call centre operator had her phone number!
Etymology: Distress/Redress
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COMMENTS:
cute word - Nosila, 2008-10-28: 23:48:00
...and clever:) - metrohumanx, 2008-10-29: 00:46:00
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Servangst
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: sur vang ssssssssst
Sentence: Her servangst was so strong that she naver went to a restaurant without a sandwich in her purse
Etymology: servant, angst
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COMMENTS:
Good answer...worth a good tip! - Nosila, 2010-03-25: 12:24:00
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Maitredisgusting
Created by: bzav1
Pronunciation: maitre dee skusting
Sentence: What he did to my cake was maitrdisgusting. I will never complain about my dessert again!
Etymology: maitre de + disgusting
Counterattack
Created by: petaj
Pronunciation: counter attack
Sentence: No sooner had Nelly complained to the insurance officer across the service desk about the poor quality of the repairer's work on her storm-damaged roof, she felt that coil of fear in her stomach. Would this woman counterattack with quick thrust of her letter opener, or was she in for a year delay in getting the ruined carpet replaced.
Etymology: counter attack (retaliation) + counter (where one obtains service in a shop or service centre)
Dissatisfriction
Created by: rikboyee
Pronunciation: dis-sat-is-frik-shern
Sentence: as he sent the salad back because it was to 'leafy', he started to feel an awkward pang of dissatisfriction
Etymology: diss, dissatisfaction, friction
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COMMENTS:
I bet he'll get the seizure salad for returning it. - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-30: 10:14:00
or maybe a gob salad with blew cheese dressing - Jabberwocky, 2007-11-30: 15:04:00
And what was that floating in the turdle soup? - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-30: 18:07:00
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Breachofcontact
Created by: Nuwanda
Pronunciation: breech-of-con-tacked
Sentence: Melanie was worried that by sending back her cold soup, she had created a breachofcontact, thus opening herself up for all sorts of unsavory retailatory possibilities. Melanie was aware that the agreement between server and servee was tenuous at best, and did not instigate a breachofcontact lightly. Nonetheless, she was still surprised and more than a little disgusted to find a cigarette butt in her piping hot soup.
Etymology: breach of contract revised to breach of contact
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COMMENTS:
Clever. Great sentence with nice nuances. - metrohumanx, 2008-10-28: 17:53:00
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Clereckage
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: klərekij
Sentence: Despite the fact that everything in her order was wrong, Joyce was kept quiet. She feared the clereckage that might occur if she complained.
Etymology: clerk (a person employed in an office or bank to keep records and accounts and to undertake other routine administrative duties) + wreckage (something that has been badly damaged or destroyed)
Maitrebution
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: mey/truh/byoo/shun
Sentence: As soon as she returned her over cooked steak, she had a sick sense that maitrebution would occur behind the closed doors of the kitchen on her new steak.
Etymology: maitre d'+ retribution
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COMMENTS:
Great word -- I'll be thinking about it the next time I send food back at a restaurant. Yikes!! - franke, 2007-11-30: 10:03:00
A legitimate beef. No doubt her next steak will be cooked medium hair. - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-30: 10:22:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram~ James
remistram - 2007-11-30: 10:14:00
I admit - one of my paranoias....
purpleartichokes - 2007-11-30: 13:49:00
Thanks for all the great definitions Remi!
By the way, Remistram also gets a credit for yesterday's definition. She originally submitted her definition about compulsive sniffing in June, so I have added her name to the credits which she shares with kabloozie. Thanks! ~ James
silveryaspen - 2008-12-09: 01:06:00
Am I the only one confounded by the previous verbotomies being show as new ones, along with the re-run of the definition? When we go to vote for the new verbotomies, it's going to be confusing to vote for the new verbotomies instead of the old verbotomies.
logarithm - 2008-12-09: 04:24:00
A re-run, huh? I think it's ok to mix the old and new verbotomies together, and let people vote for their favourites. New verbotomies are great, but some of the old ones might still be the better ones. p/s Silveryaspen: I am back! ;-)
wayoffcenter - 2008-12-09: 05:31:00
But old games have already been decided and have major point advantages over any new entries. It stops regular contributors from playing. They already have a word entered for this contest.
logarithm - 2008-12-09: 07:02:00
It's a contest?
Hey Silvery et al, Oops! Double replay. I have now updated today's definition. See it here: Isn't it a bit early to be wearing Christmas decorations? Be creative, James
Yes, logarithm, it's a game. We have daily and weekly winners. The winning word of the day gets printed in the "b", Baltimore's free daily newspaper. See: b the paper. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James