Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n., Cautionary advice provided by parents to their children, often makes no logical sense but carries enough emotional weight to affect the child's behavior. v. To warn of danger through the judicious use of exaggeration.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
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Poultrygeist
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: pol tree guyst
Sentence: Chickenita Bantama had a hard time persuading her youngest chick,Henny Youngman, to eat his feed. She finally had to resort to scare tactics and told him the tale of the poultrygeist. It was a scary ghost chicken that came after little chicks that did not eat up their supper. It worked for her, even if some thought it was fowl play...Happy Halloween!
Etymology: Poultry (a domesticated gallinaceous bird) & Poltergeist (a ghost that announces its presence with rapping and the creation of disorder)
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COMMENTS:
LOVING YOUR STORIES - DrWebsterIII, 2012-10-31: 11:24:00
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Whopperstopper
Created by: kerryb
Pronunciation: wopur stopur
Sentence: My parents never failed to verbalize any number of whopperstoppers in order to curb my ongoing misbehavior.
Etymology: whopper: A ridiculous and ostentatiously bodacious lie or misnomer that would violate the bounds of belief beyond any child older than 5! stopper: A metaphorical line in the sand that is designed to cease unwanted action or behavior.
Rugrant
Created by: purpleartichokes
Pronunciation: rug-rant
Sentence: To be an effective scarent, one must concoct enough plausible rugrants to guide the child safely to adolescence, such as the once popular "if you don't eat your crusts, you won't grow hair on your chest."
Etymology: rug rat, rant
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COMMENTS:
Fortunately I ate my crusts. Great word! - Scrumpy, 2007-09-28: 07:46:00
scarent's a good word too - Jabberwocky, 2007-09-28: 15:16:00
Great word. - OZZIEBOB, 2007-09-30: 18:04:00
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Awedition
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: aw/dish/un
Sentence: Parents awedition their children because it is a fast, easy way to get the behaviour they expect. Unfortunately, when children are put through too many aweditions and are older, they do not trust anything their parents tell them.
Etymology: awe (fear)+ condition
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COMMENTS:
sounds like something a teacher might do - Jabberwocky, 2007-09-28: 11:59:00
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Dadvice
Created by: dwight
Pronunciation: dad-vice
Sentence: "The dadvice was smokin' yesterday when he found out I had unprotected sex with my English teacher."
Etymology: Dad and advice
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COMMENTS:
Oooh, catchy! Very good! - vixphilia, 2007-09-28: 16:56:00
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Humumbug
Created by: vixphilia
Pronunciation: hum-MUM-bug
Sentence: Mum was feding me her usual humumbug: "If you keep making ugly faces,it will freeze like that!"
Etymology: Humbug: pretentious or silly talk Mum: Mother
Radmomition
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: rad MOM ish in
Sentence: Growing up in an Irish household,the 6 siblings were all raised on a solid diet of good old radmomition. This included an assorted mix of superstitions (spilling salt requires you to throw some over your left shoulder), Aesop's fables(remember that grasshopper and the ant?), lessons from the Bible(Thou shalt not lie about who ate the baking out of the freezer) and old wives' tales(if you tell a lie, your nose will grow), guaranteed to scare even the toughest know-it-all kid into submission. It was never really understood how putting a hat on the bed or opening an umbrella indoors would bring about bad luck; how stepping on a crack could break your mother's back or how licking a frosty metal fence would make your tongue stick to it. (Okay, that on was really true, as one brother found out the hard way)! Yet all these tools were used by their mother to great effectiveness. People marvelled at how well-behaved 6 kids could be out in public. But one look from their Mom's omnipresent eye could nail them to a couch for hours on end, quietly, without a hint of physical persuasion. Santa's elves were watching you just before Christmas time (I mean really, weren't they too busy making toys?); God would be mad to learn you did not put your coins on the offering plate in Church (like does he count it all?)If there was no known adage to affect a situation, she simply would make one up. It was not until they were into their teens that they discovered the Ice Cream Man going around the neighbourhood played his twinkly songs when he still had goodies left to sell. They had always been told that the music was a sign he was sold out. The irony was that all these siblings went through higher education, got responsible jobs and used exactly the same radmomition tactics on their own children and grandchildren...May you be half an hour in Heaven before the Devil knows you're dead!
Etymology: Radical (a person who has out there ideas or opinions;used of opinions and actions far beyond the norm) & Admonition (cautionary advice about something imminent;counsel in terms of someone's behavior;warn strongly; put on guard) & Mom (female parent)& Superstition (an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear;folklore;omens of good and bad luck)
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COMMENTS:
Oh MAN!!!!...You mean the ice cream man WASN'T sold out? - metrohumanx, 2008-08-29: 05:56:00
"Mom's omnipresent eye"....great turn of a phrase, Nosette. :) - metrohumanx, 2008-08-29: 08:11:00
Actual advice from an Alaskan native: Do NOT try to lick the glaciers. - Tigger, 2008-08-29: 10:34:00
Great "sentence!" :) - lumina, 2008-08-29: 15:46:00
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Parenfiction
Created by: PeeJaY
Pronunciation: PAIR-REN-FIK-SHON
Sentence: Alice was adept at providing all sorts of parenfiction to stop here eleven sons from fighting with each other.
Etymology: A conjoining of Parent and Fiction describing the untruths manufactured by desperate parents.
Adlies
Created by: simoneshin
Pronunciation: ad - lise
Sentence: true story. while in kindergarten my teacher gave and my best some adlies; stop talking or your tongue will wear off. I stopped speaking for 2 weeks en now 20 years later I can still talk. So it probably was some good adlies.
Etymology: advice + lies
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James