Vote for the best verboticism.

'Yes we can! Yes she can!'

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

Create | Read

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.

Kleptoclintonism

green

Created by: green

Pronunciation:

Sentence: 'Yes she can' is just one example of ballsy kleptoclintonism. Hillary thinks voters are so dumb we don't recognize her light-fingered mouth.

Etymology: kleptomaniac plus clinton

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

You could have said five-fingered mouth. (5-fingered discount for those scratching their heads) - arrrteest, 2008-04-25: 19:07:00

Stealing wasn't Bills problem - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-26: 19:05:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

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.

----------------------------
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

petaj 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

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Snatchphrase

Created by: Tigger

Pronunciation: /snach-freyz/

Sentence: The press was up in arms over the latest speech from Sillory Flintskin, for using a catchphrase of her rival, Flack Odrama, and turning it into a snatchphrase by stealing it and slightly rearranging the words. She had changed it from "Change we can believe in" to "We can believe in change."

Etymology: Play on the word 'Catchphrase'; Snatch - to seize by a sudden or hasty grasp (from Middle Dutch, snacken "to snatch, chatter") + Phrase - a brief utterance or remark (from Greek, phrazein "to express, tell")

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

is Flack Mel's brother? - Jabberwocky, 2008-04-25: 14:02:00

Cheers, Tigger...this is just the primaries, can we face the rest of it?? - Nosila, 2008-04-25: 22:14:00

Clever!! - TJayzz, 2008-04-28: 04:31:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Imutate

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: im/myoo/tety

Sentence: Politicians often imutate their opponents in a debate to try to get the upper hand and throw off their rival's sleaze patterns.

Etymology: imitate (mimic,impersonate) + mutate (to change, alter as in phonetics to change by umlaut)

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

excellent blend - Jabberwocky, 2008-04-25: 09:22:00

Excellent variation and application of I-mutate with it phonetic, genetic and religion meaning. Ready for immediate inclusion in the dictionary. You have my vote. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-25: 18:39:00

Excellent! - Tigger, 2008-04-26: 13:37:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Lukon

Created by: emil7

Pronunciation: luke on

Sentence: i want to have some fun. lets play lukon

Etymology:

| Comments and Points

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)

----------------------------
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

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Malopt

Created by: ErWenn

Pronunciation: /ˌmælˈɒpt/

Sentence: The English and Japanese languages have a long history of malopting each other's words.

Etymology: from mal- + opt (as in badly co-opt)

| Comments and Points

Termbezzle

Created by: Jamagra

Pronunciation: term/bezz'/el

Sentence: It isn't a puzzle, to those who can't juggle the fairer forms of speech. Why create a new phrase for what your candidate says? Termbezzle for words out of reach!

Etymology: termbezzle (v) - term + embezzle - could apply to stealing a word, a phrase, or an entire election! termbezzlement (n)

| Comments and Points

Malaproprietaryism

Created by: Jabberwocky

Pronunciation: mala/pro/pry/i/tary/ism

Sentence: He was nicknamed the "Butcher of Cavil" because of his inappropriate malaproprietaryisms.

Etymology: malapropism (use of a word in mistake dor for one sounding similar) + proprietary (held in private ownership)

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Shazam! That's a mouthful. lol - Mustang, 2008-04-25: 07:35:00

It appears you saw right through the butcher's rouge. - stache, 2008-04-25: 08:12:00

Sorry, 'dotes. - stache, 2008-04-25: 08:12:00

OZZIEBOB - 2008-04-25: 18:41:00 Very formal political term. Love " The Butcher of Cavil." - OZZIEBOB, 2008-04-25: 18:43:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

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

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...

 

Comments:

OZZIEBOB - 2008-04-25: 18:41:00
Very formal political term. Love " The Butcher of Cavil."