Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To have difficulty recognizing, and correctly interpreting, human facial expressions. n. A person who cannot read faces.
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.
Struggrin
Created by: Alchemist
Pronunciation: STRUG-grin
Sentence: Ever since half our team got put on Prozac, I've been struggrin to figger out whether someone is actually smiling, or just reacting to his altered brain chemistry.
Etymology: struggle, grin
Snublivious
Created by: karenanne
Pronunciation: snuh BLIV ee us
Sentence: As Ron and Janie were leaving the restaurant, and Janie said vaguely, "Yes, uh, we should get together sometime," Ron didn't pick up on the fact that this was basically a kiss-off. He should have been clued in by the fact that when she said it, she was A. looking at her watch, B. looking bored, C. NOT looking at him, D. NOT giving him her phone number, and E. NOT asking him for HIS phone number. Actually, the fact that she hadn't smiled once during their whole dinner date probably should have been hint #1, but he had interpreted that as intense interest in him. He was so snublivious that he took out his calendar and started leafing through it looking for good days to go out again. He was surprised when she began inching away and suddenly jumped into an available cab. Looking back later, he asked himself, "How come I never see this coming?"
Etymology: snub + oblivious
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COMMENTS:
snublicious word - Nosila, 2009-11-25: 23:08:00
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Visagaffe
Created by: verysimplegame
Pronunciation: Vis-ay-gaff
Sentence: Brandon's propensity to visagaffe always left him on the wrong foot in one-to-one negotiations.
Etymology: Visage (expression or countenance) + gaffe (blatant mistake or misjudgement)
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COMMENTS:
Oh, that's clever! - jedijawa, 2007-05-10: 11:44:00
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Mugnorant
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /MUG-ner-uhnt/
Sentence: George would stop by the convenience store every day after his morning run to buy Gatorade, and he was sure the young woman who worked there liked him. She would crinkle her nose in the cutest way, and cover her face with her hand when he flirted with her. He figured she was just shy. One day there was a new girl there, even cuter than the regular girl, and she did the same thing when George approached the counter, smiling at her. He decided to ask her out, but when he did, she said "No, you stink! Are you mugnorant or something?"
Etymology: Mug - a human face [informal] (from Norwegian, mugge "pitcher"; usage from cups adorned with grotesque faces) + Ignorant - lacking education or knowledge (from Latin, ignorare "not aware")
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COMMENTS:
OOOOH- Norweigo-latin...cool! - metrohumanx, 2008-07-09: 02:46:00
George is a real mugnoramus. - Mustang, 2008-07-09: 07:50:00
I guess george is kind of "mugdumb" Good word. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-07-10: 05:35:00
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Kissermisser
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: kiss/er/miss/er
Sentence: Joe confused a smirk for a scowl, fear for friendliness, a grin for a grimace. He was a socially inept kissermisser.
Etymology: KISSERMISSER - noun - from KISSER (an informal term for the human face) + MISS (to fail to perceive, or understand)
Impearance
Created by: ziggy41
Pronunciation: im-PAIR-ence
Sentence: Her impearance led me to believe she was a psychopath on the verge of killing me... it turned out that she loved me.
Etymology: Impair (difficulty) + appearance (expression)
Adoubtface
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: a dowt fayss
Sentence: Pinky had always thought she was a visagenist, someone who could read faces and know what people were thinking. That was until she met Bruno. It did not help that Pinky had little control over her own facial expressions. What he interpreted as amourous curiosity on her part, was actually a look of constipation. His leer at her was actually gas pains from the chili he had eaten earlier. Her adoubtface would end in them enjoying a bottle of Pepto together later.
Etymology: A Doubt (a lack confidence in or have doubts about;an uncertainty about the truth or factuality of existence of something;the state of being unsure of something)& Face (the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear; the expression on a person's face;status in the eyes of others) & play on word About-face (change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint;a reversal in attitude or principle or point of view;act of pivoting 180 degrees, especially in a military formation)
Facialoser
Created by: weareallbeautiful
Pronunciation: f-ay-sh-uh-l-oo-z-r
Sentence: The guy who lived down the street from me was such a facialoser he thought i was being nice when i was insulting him.
Etymology: facial+loser
Recognotso
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: rek-ehg-NAWT-so
Sentence: Milton was an absolute recognotso when it came to reading facial expressions and body language, always learing after the fact that the conclusions he had reached regarding others were simply 'not so'.
Etymology: Blend of the words 'recognition', 'not' and 'so'
Comments:
Today's definition was inspired by Cory Doctorow's short story "I, Row-Boat", where a sentient, and very sensitive Row-Boat has some difficulty reading a woman's facial expressions. See the full story in Overclocked. Thank you Cory! ~ James
MIENBLIND is very good- and far more cerebral than my entry. Good work, Ozziebob.
MaybeLater_x - 2008-08-19: 19:10:00
Visagenary is also a play on Imaginary, nay?
Today's definition was suggested by doctorow. Thank you doctorow. ~ James
ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:44:00
ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:45:00
Prosopagnosia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia Prosopagnosia (Greek: "prosopon" = "face", "agnosia" = "not knowing") is a disorder of fa