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.
Disfacadiology
Created by: zrotv
Pronunciation: dis - fa- say -de -ol -i -gee
Sentence: I thought I knew what the smile meant, but I suffer from disfacadiology. (Also: I am disfacadilogical)
Etymology: dis + facade + ology
Converbal
Created by: Osomatic
Pronunciation: con + verb + ull
Sentence: I used to be converbal enough that I thought a big smile meant "I'm not interested."
Etymology: Like non-verbal, only with "con."
Expressimiss
Created by: Maureen
Pronunciation: ex-press-e-miss
Sentence: Expressimiss was her forte, so Mandy was constantly surprised by the mixed reactions she received when she mistook sneering for smiling and vice versa.
Etymology: Expressi- from expression and miss - fail to perceive.
Faceilliterate
Created by: pifty
Pronunciation: fejsilitereit
Sentence: he's so faceilliterate that he can't even tell wheather she likes him or thinks he's an idiot!
Etymology: face, facial + illiterate
Visagenary
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: viz ah jen ne ree
Sentence: Let's face it, Claude is a visagenary when it comes to reading people...he can't. He has a lot of cheek, he gives a lot of lip and it's hard for him not to brow beat people. He nose it is wrong, but he runs off at the mouth. Clause does it for attend chin and rather than lose face, he misinterprets peoples' expressions. One of these days, he will get it in the kisser if he's not careful... a homemade facelift. Then no one will be able to read his facial expressions either, cause he'll have to go to a plastic surgeon, not a real one to save face.
Etymology: Visage (the appearance conveyed by a person's face;the human face) & Nary (not a one) & Visionary (a person with unusual powers of foresight;a person given to fanciful speculations and enthusiasms with little regard for what is actually possible)
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COMMENTS:
Ha! I read "attend chin" about ten times before I got it, then I laughed like a maniac... I'm so tired. Nice word though! - Tigger, 2008-07-09: 01:35:00
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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)
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.
Mugmunge
Created by: jedijawa
Pronunciation: mug-munje
Sentence: Marc was bad about mugmunging facial expressions and thinking that people were reacting favorably to his boring stories.
Etymology: mug (face) + munge (to imperfectly transform information i.e. "address munging")
Misexpressionize
Created by: rubysoho
Pronunciation: miss-ex-PRESH-shun-ize
Sentence: Often people who are not successful at dating learn that it is because they tend to misexpressionize.
Etymology:
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