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'Look at that big smile!'

DEFINITION: v. To have difficulty recognizing, and correctly interpreting, human facial expressions. n. A person who cannot read faces.

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Verboticisms

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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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Misguise

Created by: Jabberwocky

Pronunciation: miss/guys

Sentence: He would always misguise the apprehensive looks on co-workers faces and consequently talk to his boss when it was an inappropriate time

Etymology: miss + guise

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COMMENTS:

Can also be used as a noun. My boss wears a misguise every day. He always looks like he's smiling, even when he's pissed off. - purpleartichokes, 2007-05-09: 08:55:00

Great word because most guys miss these signals! - Stevenson0, 2007-05-09: 12:31:00

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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'

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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)

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Abilister

Created by: janefedd

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Adifface

simplemoose

Created by: simplemoose

Pronunciation: A DIF' FACE

Sentence: Adiffaces are generally creepy.

Etymology:

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Winceblind

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: WINCE-BLIND

Sentence: Paul regaled his dinner date with an endless succession of irrelevant anecdotes,childish jokes and lewd comments. Being congenitally WINCEBLIND,he mistook Bab's expressions of terminal boredom and abject horror as sultry approval and scampish encouragement.

Etymology: WINCE-to grimace BLIND-unable to see that one has NO chance with the opposite sex.

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Mienblind

Created by: OZZIEBOB

Pronunciation: MEEN-blahynd

Sentence: Roxie was certain that she had found the fountain of youth (or, perhaps, just Dani Minogue's Beauty Guide) when she came across an advert featuring the "Prosopial Pill," a startling, C21th make-over breakthrough, whereby one could look just look like he or she wanted to: having any skin, eye, or hair colour, and facial expressions, by simply taking this pill. Bob, upon hearing all this, became deeply concerned with the prospect of Roxie frequently changing her appearance, wondering whether he would be able, in future, to read her prosopialities. Seeking help, he immediately began flicking through "The Dictionary of Verbotomy" and for a while little interested him, and was about to put the book down when one word arrested his eyes: the word Mienblind.

Etymology: MIEN: facial expression, demeanour, bearing, appearance,aspect; air; manner; carriage; bearing or manner, especially as it reveals an inner state of mind & BLIND: unwilling or unable to perceive or understand; not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge. PROSOPIAL: From Gk, Prosop meaning face & PILL.

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Visagidiot

Created by: daisy

Pronunciation: vi-za-ji-di-it

Sentence: He can't seem to tell the difference between a cringe and a wink - he's a visagidiot!

Etymology:

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Ungesticate

mishmish

Created by: mishmish

Pronunciation:

Sentence: - I was winking at him all night, but he didn't get it . - Well, maybe he's just ungesticate.

Etymology: from "gesto", Italian/Spanish/Portuguese etc. for gesture

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-09: 02:26:00
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

metrohumanx metrohumanx - 2008-07-09: 02:49:00
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?

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-11-25: 00:48:00
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