Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To adopt other people's words, phrases and linguistic stylings, and then try to make them your own by subtlety altering the syntax. n. A borrowed and butchered phrase
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.
Usurparize
Created by: arrrteest
Pronunciation: you-serp-ah-rize
Sentence: Edwin hated his former co-worker who was now his boss. It was Edwin's ideas and work that Carl would usurparize and claim to be his own. He would change a word here or there to protect the guilty, but in the end, Edwin knew it was his ideas that got Carl where he was.
Etymology: usurp + plagiarize
Vernaculagiarize
Created by: stache
Pronunciation: vər-nāk'yə-lā'jə-rīz'
Sentence: Madge could have predicted that when Melvin got off the phone with his Texas Oilman client his speech would be different. "Whatch'yall a fixin'?" he vernaculagiarized. "Dahling, please. Knock it off," Madge pleaded, as the gefilte fish simmered. "Whah, ah don't know what'cher tahkin' abayat," he responded. For a Jew from Passaic, New Jersey, he sounded decidedly cowboy, all of a sudden.
Etymology: 'Vern,' off-camera foil of the late spokesperson Jim Varney's character, Ernest P. Worrell; 'acula,' from Dr. Acula, grindcore band from Long Island, NY; 'Gia,' after Gia Carangi, top fashion model, late 1970's; 'rize,' var. of rise, to ascend. Alternately, to plagiarize one's vernacular.
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COMMENTS:
Poor Earnest. The world still mourns his loss, I'm sure... don't they? - Tigger, 2008-04-25: 02:43:00
I sprained my tongue just saying vernaculargiarize. It was still fun. Good word. - Mustang, 2008-04-25: 07:25:00
Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who spoke with a stuttering surfeit of ums and ahs, would have a lot of trouble pronouncing this one. Your comment about the "one-legged well digger" brings to mind another of his favorite quips : "Ah, ah, the problem with you, you, you, is that you got one foot on sticky, sticky paper and ya other on the f-ffence." Luv your word, blends nicely. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-25: 18:31:00
Who Knew?? Talk amongst yourselves, I'll give you a topic. No Big Whoop! "If Russia invaded Turkey from the rear, would Greece help???" Discuss. (From Linda Richman, SNL, "Coffee Talks" skits with Mike Meyer. - Nosila, 2008-04-25: 22:24:00
I like verbacusmalliarize. Err was that a vernaculargiarizism? - petaj, 2008-04-26: 03:17:00
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Linguistickup
Created by: TJayzz
Pronunciation: Linn-gwiss-teecup
Sentence: Janet realised she had been the victim of a linguistickup but Dave was so cunning there was nothing she could do about it.
Etymology: Linguistic- (Language related )+ Stick-up (To steal, by way of) = Linguistickup
Spielsteal
Created by: donlyn
Pronunciation:
Sentence: Ken and Boris were both spielsteal culprits so which ones speech was worth listening to.
Etymology:
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COMMENTS:
Good word. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-26: 18:55:00
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Malapropriate
Created by: Alchemist
Pronunciation: mal-uh-PRO-pree-ate
Sentence: Sensing an opening, McClain fixed his opponent with a glittering gaze. Overeager, he leaned over the podium and malapropriated the oft-misquoted Benson zinger, spouting, "You, sir, are no Dead Kennedy!"
Etymology: malaprop, appropriate
Robscuranto
Created by: OZZIEBOB
Pronunciation: ruhb-skyoor-RAHN-to
Sentence: The robscuranto and gabyrinth of the late Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Queensland premier from 1968 to 1987, famous for his unique mangling of the English language, was very effective in fobbing off journalists with irrelevant non-answers in a performance he called "feeding the chooks." Of two political opponents, he said: " You can push a 44-gallon drum of molasses up a hill easier than you can push those two fellas." Other bjelkisms, include: "If you fly with crows, look like the crows, you'll be shot with the crows" or something to that robscurantic effect.
Etymology: Blend of ROB: Steal, take, borrow; OBSCURE: to render or make difficult unclear, difficult to understand, unintelligible; (R)ANTO of Esperanto; and OBSCURANTO:the jargon and acronymese of large bodies, such as the UN. Indeed, many critics of Esperanto claimed that Zamenhof took perfectly good words from Latin, French, German and English and render them obscure and unrecognizable. Furthermore, it is often said, that he filled his language with unnecessary grammatical forms and confusing syntax.
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COMMENTS:
That's funnier than a one-legged well digger. - stache, 2008-04-25: 08:09:00
terrific word - Jabberwocky, 2008-04-25: 09:24:00
G'Day, "You can't keep a good man down" from Muriel's Wedding! or "A life lived infear is a life half lived" from "Strictly Ballroom". Cheers, Mate! - Nosila, 2008-04-25: 22:20:00
On the topic of condoms Joh said "We don't want any of that sort of thing up here." in Queensland.
- petaj, 2008-04-26: 03:16:00
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Speechleech
Created by: verbherder
Pronunciation: speech-leech
Sentence: Don't worry if you can't think of an original answer. There's no need to recreate the tire. Just turn someone else's thought into a speechleech.
Etymology: speech (oral communication) + leech (a person who clings to another for personal gain, esp. without giving anything in return)
Euphemeism
Created by: Rutilus
Pronunciation: You-for-me-isum
Sentence: Clarissa knew that she could always rely on her rivals' phrases to give her the inspiration to steal them and their thunder by turning them into her own euphemeisms.
Etymology: Combination of 'euphemism' + 'me'
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COMMENTS:
neat - Jabberwocky, 2008-04-25: 09:28:00
Just teaphetwoism and twopheteaism, mepheyouism and euphemeism alone... - Tigger, 2008-04-26: 13:20:00
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Plagiareyes
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: diss sin tax
Sentence: Hillary & Barack had verbally jousted in every state so far that they had been campaigning. They each had spies in the other's camp and would get a drift of the other's speech ideas before that speech was given. In this way, one could scoop the opponent's theme and words and leave the second presenter scrambling to come up with something else. Invariably, each would dysyntacks the other's words to the point that they made nonsensical rhetoric, which confused voters even more. Although guilty of it herself, Hillary decided to play Barack at his own game and threw the word dysyntacks into her next speech. She had the last laugh when Barack got up and announced a plan to eliminate the Dissin' Tax from the federal budget!
Etymology: Dysfunctional (failing to serve an adjustive or conducive to adjustment purpose) + Syntax (the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences) + Attacks ( take the initiative and go on the offensive) + Tax (make a charge against or accuse)
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COMMENTS:
I guess I cancelled the wrong word...Should read Dysyntacks, Oops! - Nosila, 2008-04-25: 01:11:00
Great punchline on your story though! - Tigger, 2008-04-25: 02:29:00
Betcha Hilary would talk about "sintax" when Bill's around! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-26: 19:02:00
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Aproproliniator
Created by: frozenpeas42
Pronunciation: a-prop-ro-lin-iator
Sentence: I can't stand that bloody aproproliniator; he sounds like a broken record!
Etymology: to appropriate Lien
Comments:
OZZIEBOB - 2008-04-25: 18:41:00
Very formal political term. Love " The Butcher of Cavil."