Verboticism: Shiftagift

'Why are you putting that by the front door?'

DEFINITION: n., An ugly decorative item or article of clothing received from friends or relatives, which is kept stored away but ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice in anticipation of a return visit. v., To temporarily place an old, and perhaps unattractive gift in a place of honor.

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Cheapophoret

Created by: logarithm

Pronunciation: chē-pō-fo-ret

Sentence:

Etymology: 1) Cheapo: of very poor quality and tastelessly showy. 2) Apophoret: a new year's gift.

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Horribowl

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: hawr-uh-bohl

Sentence: Tom's mom is coming to visit for Christmas so out of the closet comes the horribowl she gave him last year.

Etymology: Horrible (extremely unpleasant; deplorable; disgusting) + bowl (hollow, concave container)

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Dissedplay

Created by: Niktionary

Pronunciation: disstplay

Sentence: "I hate this sweater! But my grandma gave it to me, and I'm having dinner with her. I have to dissedplay it. I hope we go someplace dark!"

Etymology: Slang term diss and display

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Giftaslot

Created by: looseball

Pronunciation: gift+a+slot

Sentence: Go to the giftaslot now there that b,atch come's again.

Etymology:

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Displayaway

Created by: purpleartichokes

Pronunciation: dis-play-ah-way

Sentence: Every year, Mom gives me a displayaway or closet deposit for Christmas, which is why my good clothes and trinkets are now stacked throughout my bedroom.

Etymology: display, away

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COMMENTS:

Quite clever. Good one. - Tigger, 2007-12-16: 16:36:00

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Resurregalia

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: rez-ure-REG-ahl-ee-uh

Sentence: Babs and Jake always greeted the holidays with excitement and dread. With extended family coming to visit, these reunions often degenerated into verbal slug fests. Babs would prepare the mandatory dishes, and Jake's job was to break out the RESURREGALIA...those tacky gifts and mementoes which would have been endearing if they weren't SO ugly and tasteless. Jake was especially fond of Aunt Lydia's "Sceptre of Authority"- a self-contained toilet accesory with disturbingly phallic qualities which kept everyone laughing well into the wee hours. Bottoms up!

Etymology: RESURREct+reGALIA=RESURREGALIA.........RESURRECT:to bring to view, attention, or use again,to raise from the dead;back-formation from resurrection-1772......REGALIA:: the emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royalty,decorations or insignia,special dress or trappings;Medieval Latin, from Latin, neuter plural of regalis-1540

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COMMENTS:

Re(as)suringly regal resurrection complete with elegant use of Latin. Very nice! - dochanne, 2008-12-16: 03:00:00

Brings back so many memories. I like it. - Mustang, 2008-12-16: 21:00:00

Good word...been there done that! - Nosila, 2008-12-16: 22:16:00

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Curiotrocity

Created by: porsche

Pronunciation: kuri/oh/traw/city

Sentence: A curiotrocity is a curio that is so atrocious that it defies description. I have several.

Etymology: curio + atrocity

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Zombift

Created by: grauntlet

Pronunciation: zam bIft

Sentence: His wife was beginning to serve tea to her mother when Duncan said: "where did you get this god-awful tea set? why dont you get the nice one?". His wife didn't have the time to warn him about the zombift.

Etymology: zombie + gift

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Gifthoarse

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: gift hors

Sentence: It had become a tradition at Christmas as much as decorating the tree and putting up lights. It meant Mother was coming to stay for the holidays and although we loved her dearly and looked forward to seeing her, we had to dig out that painting she had given us many years ago and hang it over the fireplace. It stayed the rest of the yhear in the attic. That's because it was painted on black velvet, with glow-in-the-dark paints, framed inside a gaudy rococco gilt frame. Yes, being his #1 fan, Mother had bought us a portrait of Elvis. Wearing a white jumpsuit, sneering into the microphone in his hand and tilting his pelvis our way! You could push a button at the bottom of the frame and tinny music of him singing would belt out. Our friends who visited over the years hooted and hollered at the tacky image. Neighbours would make the pilgrimmage each year to see The King. He was a gifthoarse that made people laugh and sing along. We always said we would pull him out for Mother's visit, so as not to hurt her feelings, but one of these years old age would overtake her and we would no longer be obligated to carry on the charade. It was then that we realized that the song he sang from the portrait, "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you" would become very poignant to us.

Etymology: gift (a present, something given) & hoarse (deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion) & old saying: "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" old proverb which means don't question how you acquired something or what it cost. The advice given is be grateful for your good fortune and don't look for more by examining it to assess its value.

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COMMENTS:

metrohumanx Awwww. How moving. Nice work, Lady. - metrohumanx, 2008-12-16: 02:40:00

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Ugiftorate

tonii

Created by: tonii

Pronunciation: /ug-ift-o-rate/

Sentence: If you don't ugiftorate that nasty green vase onto the coffee table, your sister-in-law will never speak to you again!

Etymology: ugly + gift+ decorate

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