Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n., A feeling of discomfort, common while sitting on a plane or train, created by the sense that you are about to be decapitated by your fellow passengers who are tilting aggressively towards you. v. To sit in a very small space, which seems to be getting smaller.
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.
Claustrauma
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: closs-TRAH-mah
Sentence: The instant the doors close before flight, Delbert always experiences some degree of claustrauma, with unreasonable fear that the plane may crash, and the guy just behind him chanting in unrecognizeable dialect does little to ease his fears.
Etymology: Blend of 'claustrophobia' (an abnormal fear of being in enclosed or narrow places), and 'trauma' (an experience that produces psychological injury or pain)
Economyclasstrophobia
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: ee kono mee klas tro fo beea
Sentence: John thought, "No wonder there's air rage these days. The planes are getting smaller, the line up at security takes longer than the actual flight. A 2 hour flight ends up in an 8 hour outing just to get where you need to go. You either have to buy food in the after security spaces at grossly inflated prices or purchase something to eat on the airplane at even more grossly inflated prices. The headphones for the movie rarely work. The crew are always on skeletal staff levels and forget trying to turn around in the toilet". After these happy thoughts John was fighting to overcome his economyclasstrophobia, as the seat in front of his slowly edged towards his head. "Seriously, he thought, does that girl really need eyemask and reclined seating for this 20 minute flight??? Next time, I'm driving", he vowed.
Etymology: Economy Class (the cheapest class of air or rail travel) & Claustrophobia (a morbid fear of being closed in a confined space)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Classy word for what "cheap" air travel has become! - splendiction, 2010-04-19: 21:40:00
----------------------------
Rampantransit
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: ram pan tranzit
Sentence: Ricky often wondered, just for the halibut, how much deeper a sleep the passenger in front could possibly get by going 3 inches back to encroach on his tiny space???
Etymology: rampant (uncontrolled) & transit (passage or journey)
Crimpinge
Created by: metrohumanx
Pronunciation: krim-PIN-ge (crimpingement,crimpinged)
Sentence: RedundantRay was pleased and delighted with his new job as an undercover consumer satisfaction consultant for SkyHigh Airlines. In his short yet brief career he had suggested many small, tiny improvements and modifications which had saved the airline a lot of money and cash. The greatest and most important of these were his recommendations that by slowly and gradually reducing and decreasing the size and dimensions of the fold-down trays and shrinking the available leg room available to each passenger, SkyHigh could eventually increase the number of seats on each L-1011 and no one would notice. On his latest undercover flight from Tierra Del Fuego, the small yet diminutive Korean tourist in front of him began to CRIMPINGE on his personal space, slowly ratcheting her seat into the reclining horizontal position which stifled and cut off the blood supply to Ray's lower extremities and legs, inducing an accidental Heimlich Manoever that propelled the tiny Sardinian fish he was choking on the length of the cabin. RedundantRay's CRIMPINGEMENT made it impossible to hail a flight attendant or stewardess. Imprisoned thus, Ray was only able to regret his stupid, foolish space-saving suggestions which had turned this tedious, arduous flight into a flying airborne version of The Black Hole Of Calcutta. Just before he blacked out into unconsciousness, Ray wondered if his frequent-flier miles would be awarded posthumously after he was dead and gone.
Etymology: CRIMP+imPINGE=CRIMPINGE.....CRIMP: to cause to become wavy, bent, or pinched,to form into a desired shape, to pinch or press together (as in passengers) in order to seal;Dutch or Low German krimpen to shrivel; akin to Middle Dutch crampe hook, cramp.....IMPINGE: to strike or dash especially with a sharp collision or a slow squeezing action;Latin impingere, from in- + pangere to fasten, drive in.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Save BIG monies! Fly with confidence:
http://www.skyhighairlines.com/main.asp - metrohumanx, 2008-11-20: 02:06:00
Correct me if I'm wrong. - metrohumanx, 2008-11-20: 02:07:00
I like this word best! Voted for it! - logarithm, 2008-11-20: 08:40:00
Fantastic. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-11-20: 16:13:00
tAIRiffic word! I could hardly t'AIR my eyes away from it. - Nosila, 2008-11-20: 19:00:00
----------------------------
Dreathday
Created by: wackyscience
Pronunciation: dret-they
Sentence: "Ah...It goes back a long time, to the year 1505. I was travelling in this lovely little bob-about, eating halloween pumpkins, when Harry Potter leaned back on his Quidditch broom. That was my dreathday.", says Nearly Headless Nick, thus explaining the mystery of his wonderful name.
Etymology: Dreath = Dread + Death. Dread-A feeling of awkwardness, or darkness ominously looming over you. You may get feelings like butterflies crittering in your stomach, or like being sucked into a huge black hole. Especially used to describe situations like the day you get your grades in that algebra test, and of course, at the receiving end of an extremely sleepy passenger. Death-I dont need to tell you what this is. Ultimate mortis. Bye-Bye Time. Say your prayers. Go home to Momma. This is life...and death. Day-Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Everyday, Holiday, Doomsday, Mayday, Yesterday, Today, Birthday, Someday, Faraday, Payday, Heyday, Weekday...want more?
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Luv the word, "DREATH." - OZZIEBOB, 2008-11-20: 16:12:00
Splendidly compleat. Nice work. - metrohumanx, 2008-11-21: 08:04:00
----------------------------
Kneedless
Created by: Nuwanda
Pronunciation: knead-less
Sentence: The passenger in front of Tom kneedlessly reclined her seat, figuring Tom would kneedless room than she did. Had she been more considerate, she probably would have been kneedless by Tom, who made it his mission for the rest of the flight to dig his knees into the reclined seat while incessantly putting large hardback books into the seat pocket only to take them out again.
Etymology: Heedless--characterized by careless unconcern--changed to incorporate knee and then conjugated every way I could think of.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Good word - OZZIEBOB, 2008-11-20: 16:23:00
Kneedmore Kneedless words like this... - Nosila, 2008-11-20: 19:44:00
Spectacular tale of revenge! - metrohumanx, 2008-11-21: 08:31:00
----------------------------
Claustairphobia
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: klost aer foby ya
Sentence: Kenny travelled the world by air. YEMEN, he knew the airline FRONTIER, from EASTERN to WESTJET and from CANADANORTH to the SOUTHWEST and was a very CONTINENTAL passenger. He had flown on planes from the DELTA to a LOT of countries. He'd been in the SAS, because he was BRITISH and knew the AER LINGUS fluently from each jet he'd been on. He could say ALOHA, JAL come back now,and OMAN and other words of OLYMPIC proportions. He knew which airlines served LUXAIRious meals; where the AEROFLOTation devices were;and who had VARIGreat service. One thing he hated about all airlines were the reclining seats. The right hand apparently had not known what the LUFTHANSA was thinking when they invented them. EL AL they did was cause claustairphobia for the passenger behind. Being no VIRGIN to travel, he honestly did not know how reclining your seat just 3 inches could give you a more restful sleep. He thought all passengers who hated this should stand UNITED against the airlines in solid AIRity. He had just watched "QANTAS OF Solace" on the air movie and did not know how anyone could sleep through that...
Etymology: Claustrophobia (a morbid fear of being closed in a confined space) & Air (travel via aircraft)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
FORMIDABLE! I don't think you missed a single carrier. I'm sure they miss you. - metrohumanx, 2008-11-20: 02:17:00
Has that special air flair! Your word deserves an Air Medal. - silveryaspen, 2008-11-20: 07:47:00
Cheers...always wanted to be an Air Apparent! - Nosila, 2008-11-20: 18:54:00
----------------------------
Scoomunched
Created by: chris0rthompson
Pronunciation: scoo-munched
Sentence: While on the plane the person in front of me leaned their chair back causing me to be very scoomunched.
Etymology:
Crambivalence
Created by: OZZIEBOB
Pronunciation: kram-BIV-uh-luh ns
Sentence: As the 500lb Sumo wrestler quaked tectonically to and fro in the seat immediately in front of his, Bob's crambivalence faltered between the fear of being squeezy-chaired, and the hope of having a fabulous fortnight in The Philippines.
Etymology: Blend of CRAM: to press something into something else; jam or cram beyond the normal comfortable capacity, as on a plane or train & AMBIVALENCE: similar conflicting feelings; mixed feelings of uncertainty or emotion, as between safety & unsafety.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Another good combo! - silveryaspen, 2008-01-29: 09:11:00
once again, I'm wowed by your extra words - love squeezy-chaired - Jabberwocky, 2008-01-29: 13:26:00
great word! - bananabender, 2008-01-29: 22:27:00
----------------------------
Terriflying
Created by: bookowl
Pronunciation: tear/ih/fly/ing
Sentence: Sam feared small spaces and thought it terriflying to sit on a plane.
Etymology: terrifying + flying
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Clever - OZZIEBOB, 2008-11-20: 16:18:00
----------------------------
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by gemmgemms. Thank you gemmgemms. ~ James
silveryaspen - 2008-01-29: 09:30:00
Evocative cartoon ... crushed-people like sardines in a tinned-canny airplane with that overpowering fishy smell closing in on everything! Very clever!
Hey Silveryaspen, Thanks for the kind words. Smells like croosht shoup ~ James
Excellent word. Makes me wonder who that was and what they were chanting.
Today's definition was suggested by gemmgemms. Thank you gemmgemms. ~ James