Verboticism: Appropriage

'Of course I'm twenty-one!'

DEFINITION: v. To lie about your age. n. A misrepresentation about your age, usually done in order to appear younger or older.

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Appropriage

Created by: Filthy

Pronunciation: ə-ˈprō-prē-'āj

Sentence: Shirley took umbrage at the bartender's accusation of appropriage.

Etymology: Appropriage= appropriate (to take or make use of without authority or right AND/OR especially suitable or compatible) + age (an individual's development measured in years). Often mistakenly affixed with the prefix 'in-', the word 'appropriage' makes use of two distinct meanings of its first root word ('appropriate'). Specifically, the person committing the offense of appropriage is appropriating the rights and privileges afforded to someone of a different age; they are thus also pretending that their behavior is age-appropriate. The term has its origins in law enforcement slang. It was used to refer to an attempt at entry into adult establishments while under the legal age for entry, or into high school events by someone exceeding the socially appropriate age-range. The term only extended into the vernacular after suburbanite parents started to apply the law enforcement slang to refer to adults lying about their age for reasons of vanity. Purists insist on applying the original slang meanings, but lying about one's age for any reason has come to be an acceptable use of 'appropriage'.

Points: 521