Verboticism: Smotherspeak

'You're perfect, but you just don't listen!'

DEFINITION: v. To be offered regular encouragement, unwavering support and subtle but unrelenting criticism based on the worry that you may not be realizing your "full potential". n. The helpful but sometimes annoying advice given by a mother to a child.

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Smotherspeak

Created by: arrrteest

Pronunciation: smuth-er-speek

Sentence: Jason cringed at the very sound whenever his mother began a sentence with a motherspeak preface. "I like the (fill in noun or phrase), but..." Yes, it was like everything she would say before the word "but" softened you up for a reprimand, left-handed compliment, or unsolicited opinion.

Etymology: We put the mother in smother + speak, as in newspeak, from the George Orwell novel 1984 where language was manipulated to control thoughts and ideas

Points: 1229

Comments: Smotherspeak

OZZIEBOB - 2008-05-11: 18:34:00
Good word.