Verboticism: Incentip

'Santa won't come unless you clean up your desk!'

DEFINITION: v. To inspire and motivate people to do great things, by issuing petty threats. n. A kind and gentle threat.

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Incentip

mrskellyscl

Created by: mrskellyscl

Pronunciation: in-sen-tip

Sentence: Nothing can motivate a child to behave like a verse of that old favorite Christmas incentip and sing-a-long, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." It begins harmlessly enough, "You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not pout, I'm telling you why....," but it's really creepy that "he sees you when your sleeping, he knows when you're awake." Just what else does Santa know?

Etymology: incentive: something such as the fear of punishment or the expectation of reward that motivates behavior + tip: inside information or helpful hint or warning

Points: 530