Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v., To put an unwanted houseplant, especially a seasonal or gift plant like a Poinsettia or Easter Lily, outdoors in hopes that it will die. n., An unwanted houseplant which has been left to nature.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.
Overstalk
Created by: astorey
Pronunciation: oh-ver-stalk
Sentence: Melissa liked her plants and generally tried to take good care of them. But when she travelled or forgot to water them, only the ones who could switch to desert mode would survive. The rest became, in Melissa's mind, overstalk, and her neglect moved from benign to willful, as she started planning what the overstalk's pot would hold next.
Etymology: Alteration of "overstock" to incorporate stalk, as in a plant stem. Also intended to imply that you are over the stalk.
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COMMENTS:
cute...Maybe she should stalk to her plants to get them growing... - Nosila, 2008-10-13: 20:21:00
hahaha- "desert mode"....how optimistically deniable. Good one! - metrohumanx, 2008-10-14: 03:11:00
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Chrysanthenasia
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: krisanθənāzhə
Sentence: Lilly loves flowers. Unfortunately she has a black thumb. When her husband gave her a potted plant on her birthday it was an act of Chrysanthenasia.
Etymology: chrysanthemum (a popular plant of the daisy family, having brightly colored ornamental flowers) + euthanasia (the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma)
Chloroexpose
Created by: leechdude
Pronunciation: kloro-ex-pose
Sentence: Joe's diabolical plan to chloroexpose the easter lily had not been accomplished when a careless boy stepped on the houseplant.
Etymology: chlorophyll, expose
Leafoutside
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: leef owt syde
Sentence: Like clockwork, Flora's neighbours saw the same phenomena after each season...abandoned plants on her back porch. Poinsettia's after Christmas, Lillies after Easter, Mums after Thanksgiving, etc. Apparently ignorant on any kind of plant care knowledge,Flora would leafoutside any of these poor hothouse-raised, sensitive showy plants to fend for themselves. Inevitably, snow, frost, critters and lack of water sealed their fate. Those neighbours were very worried that one of these days, Flora might get pregnant and have a baby. If she ran true to form, they were afraid they might find the baby abandoned on the porch because he had outgrown the cute stage and was way too much work and bother. They speculated that if this was not the child's fate, he should be named "Leaf the Lucky"!
Etymology: Leaf (the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants) & Outside (Not inside, in the elements) & play on leave outside (abandon something to the Great Outdoors)
Hortikill
Created by: remistram
Pronunciation: hawr-ti-kill
Sentence: After adopting the two cats, he had to hortikill all his poisonous houseplants for fear of harming his pets.
Etymology: horticulture + kill
Floracide
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: flor-uh-side
Sentence: In a blatant attempt to commit floracide on an unwanted hideous tropical houseplant she had gotten as a gift, Etta left it outdoors on the patio during a blizzard.
Etymology: 'Flora' (Plants considered as a group) with the suffix 'cide' (from Latin meaning “killer,” “act of killing,” used in the formation of compound words)
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COMMENTS:
Yes, a blizzard WILL do the trick. - metrohumanx, 2008-10-13: 02:36:00
Now that is just plain "cold-hearted." - lumina, 2008-10-13: 22:23:00
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Dieffenbachiassassination
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: dee-fuh n-bah-kee-uh-uh-sas-uh-neyt
Sentence: Debbie was never very good with house plants. She once killed a cactus that her mother-in-law gave her that had survived years of neglect. When her friend gave her a lovely house plant she planted it out front knowing full well that she was committing Dieffenbachiassassination. "It's better that it return to nature than in my kitchen and end up in a trash can" she was heard to say.
Etymology: Dieffenbachia(tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae noted for their patterned leaves) assassination (to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously)
Expelant
Created by: bzav1
Pronunciation: ex-pel-ant
Sentence: Instead of transplanting the geraniums, Betty decided to expelant them on the porch in hopes that someone would take them away.
Etymology: expel - to cast out + plant, antonym of transplant
Bloomingales
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: bloom/in/gales
Sentence: Chris carefully positioned all his Christmas plants in the shelter of the taller conifers hoping that Darwin's theory would prove correct and they might survive. It wasn't enough though to protect them from the blizzard and gale force winds and the little plants cried out to him "Why do you love us only at Christmas? We're not bred to bloomingales.
Etymology: bloom + gales + bloomingdales
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COMMENTS:
Bloomingales, a great place to chop...errr..shop - Mustang, 2008-10-13: 08:49:00
A plant is not just for christmas!! - TJayzz, 2008-10-13: 09:01:00
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Aspidostracize
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: ass pid oss tra size
Sentence: Marvin's Mother-In-Law, Lily, finally went home after her 3 week visit. It was the longest 3 weeks of Marvin's life, as his Mother-in-law was only to eager to point out Marvin's short-comings in fixing up their new place. His wife, Fern, thought it was sweet that her mother had given them a lovely houseplant as a house-warming gift. The Aspidistra was attractive with healthy green foliage, but it constantly reminded Marvin of Lily, so he decided to aspidostracize it in the hopes it would die of neglect outside. It not only survived on the front porch, it thrived and luckily the climate was suitable for it year round. Pretty soon the entire front flower bed was populated with it's baby plants, which also flourished. But every time Marvin came near the plants, he felt they were watching him. They had pistils and they knew how to use them and they were planning to plant him outside soon, too.
Etymology: Aspidistra (evergreen perennial with large handsome basal leaves; grown primarily as a foliage houseplant...also known as Cast Iron Plant,Barroom Plant) & Ostracize (shun;banish;expel from a community or group)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by yellowbird. Thank you yellowbird! ~ James'
purpleartichokes - 2007-11-14: 04:19:00
How ironic, I just did this yesterday with some cilantro that developed a wicked case of spider mites. Now I get to feel the guilt allll over again.
Jabberwocky - 2007-11-14: 15:22:00
I got a phone call from cilantro - he said "Save me purple - it's not too late"
purpleartichokes - 2007-11-14: 18:32:00
I hate you Jabber. Here come the nightmares... "I'm freeeeezing!"
The cilantro is just the tip of the iceberg! I heard that Purple iced her entire crop artichokes, which she was **trying** to grow hydroponically in her basement. That is until she saw her electricity bill quadruple. Just think of all those poor baby artichokes... It's sad, until you think -- Purple probably would have ate them anyways. ~ James
mplsbohemian - 2007-11-14: 23:08:00
Tip of the iceberg *lettuce*, you mean.
purpleartichokes - 2007-11-15: 06:54:00
Now I'm all choked up... guess I'll start eating more meat.
Today's definition was suggested by yellowbird. Thank you yellowbird. ~ James
A friend suggested a very scary thought. She says that the verbotomists should get together and have a \"meet & greet\".
Sounds good. We could have a convention in Verbena, Alabama