Vote for the best verboticism.

'My nose hairs are scary!'

DEFINITION: n. A tool which has been re-purposed and is now being used (perhaps unsafely) to perform a completely different function. v. To use a tool for a different purpose than for which it was originally designed.

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.

Flybomb

Created by: QuantumMechanic

Pronunciation: FLY bom

Sentence: He could not get the school kids to stay off his lawn, so he pulled a flybomb and mowed his yard every morning at 8am, throwing grass clippings at them.

Etymology: From setting off a bomb to kill a fly, destroying the whole room in the process.

| Comments and Points

Twingineering

Created by: Banky

Pronunciation: /TWNJNRNK/

Sentence: Carol's use of the wiffleball bat, a feral cat, and 22 binder clips in her perverse twingineering experiment resulted in the summoning of no less than three ambulances to attend to the neighbor who was mistaken for a burglar.

Etymology: twin + engineering (as if you hadn't already figured that out...)

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

terrific - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-09: 13:53:00

got a big laugh from the things you chose to twingineer. Excellent word! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-09: 14:15:00

Good word. - kateinkorea, 2009-03-09: 18:42:00

I twin-ge with laughter! - Nosila, 2009-03-09: 22:55:00

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

| Comments and Points

Heterotoolio

Created by: Wampeter

Pronunciation: He-ter-o-tool-io

Sentence: "I cannot find the corkscrew. Watch out for thís screw instead, its my Heterotoolio!"

Etymology: Hetero: lat. different io: onomatopoesia

| Comments and Points

Mcgyvered

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: mig eye verd

Sentence: the newly mcgyvered blender also delivered perfect soups smoothies and ballistic missiles

Etymology: mcgyver

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

Mcgood word - Nosila, 2010-09-20: 08:50:00

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

| Comments and Points

Conglomergreats

Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: cun glom er grates

Sentence: Alan Rench was out camping. He liked to rough it in the mountains. His sawtoothed blade doubled as his comb. His screw driver stirred his beans in the tin bucket, simmering over the campfire, as it hung by the tire iron, held aloft by his jack. His plate was one of his hubcaps. His pocket knife did triple duty, for he used it as his spoon and fork, too. He sang the old saw "I eat my beans with honey. I done it all my life. It makes 'em taste quite funny, but it keeps 'em on my knife." He also used his pocket knife to scrape his hubcap plate clean. Alan's multi-duty use of all his tools made them his conglomergreats!

Etymology: CONGLOMERATE - mix of many things. GREAT - large in number. So tools that be used for a mix of many things in a large number of ways are conglomergreats.

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

It's a bit of a tongue twister, but if you can eat your beans off your knife, your tongue won't trip over it! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-09: 01:11:00

metrohumanx I'd LOVE to camp out with you! - metrohumanx, 2009-03-09: 01:13:00

metrohumanx Did you know you can cook flounder on your engine's manifold? It's VERY eco-efficient ! - metrohumanx, 2009-03-09: 02:18:00

I'd only cook a fish on the manifold for the halibut! And ps, silvery, they should be called BEEns! - Nosila, 2009-03-09: 22:53:00

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

| Comments and Points

Overtool

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: ōvərtoōl

Sentence: Hal likes to overtool every thing he does. He shaves in the morning with a machete that he sharpens and hones for 20 minutes. He mows his half-acre lawn with a combine after mixing cocktails in a Hobart 20-quart commercial mixer. He doesn’t see his numerous trips to the ER as an indication that he should change, just as a source of stories to share at the local hardware store.

Etymology: overkill (the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary) + tool (a device or implement, esp. one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function)

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

RightOnTheWin Really neat concept ! - RightOnTheWin, 2010-09-21: 09:33:00

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

| Comments and Points

Adapdeadly

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: ad ap ded lee

Sentence: Her array of adapdeadly tools included the cheesecuttercontraceptivewire, which took all risk of pregnancy and enjoyment out of the proceedings

Etymology: adapted, deadly

| Comments and Points

Toolfoolery

Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: tool + fool +uree

Sentence: It is toolfoolery to think that you can use a rezorblade as a screwdriver, a wrench as a hammer or a chainsaw as a scissors. Injury can often occur and body parts can be broken, mangled or lost.

Etymology: Tool + Fool + Tomfoolery >> Tool (A device or process that is used to do some kind of work) Fool (a person who lacks good judgment) Tomfoolery (folly: foolish or senseless behavior)

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

Love the way it captures the way we go toolin' around. Excellent creation! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-09: 11:11:00

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

| Comments and Points

Innovention

Created by: kalex

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

| Comments and Points

Pimplement

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: pimp le ment

Sentence: Janice had finally hit on the next great thing. She modified her belt sander to plane off the zits and blackheads on her T-Zone. She called it a pimplement. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but was never picked up by any of those companies who mass market new inventions. It seems their doctors and lawyers took exception to removing a layer of dermis in a painful manner with a rusty tool from the garage. Go figure!

Etymology: Pimple (zit;acne) & Implement (tool,instrument)

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...

 

Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-03-09: 00:01:01
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James

metrohumanx metrohumanx - 2009-03-09: 02:27:00
Thank YOU, James Gang...for the excellent illustrations! ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS! MetrohumanX

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-03-09: 11:02:00
And thank you metrohumanx, for supplying so many wonderfully prickly ideas! ~ James

yellowbird - 2009-03-09: 20:52:00
Just the cartoon made me smile. No need to read the words today!

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-09-20: 00:53:00
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James