Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To have difficulty recognizing, and correctly interpreting, human facial expressions. n. A person who cannot read faces.
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.
Struggrin
Created by: Alchemist
Pronunciation: STRUG-grin
Sentence: Ever since half our team got put on Prozac, I've been struggrin to figger out whether someone is actually smiling, or just reacting to his altered brain chemistry.
Etymology: struggle, grin
Mienblind
Created by: OZZIEBOB
Pronunciation: MEEN-blahynd
Sentence: Roxie was certain that she had found the fountain of youth (or, perhaps, just Dani Minogue's Beauty Guide) when she came across an advert featuring the "Prosopial Pill," a startling, C21th make-over breakthrough, whereby one could look just look like he or she wanted to: having any skin, eye, or hair colour, and facial expressions, by simply taking this pill. Bob, upon hearing all this, became deeply concerned with the prospect of Roxie frequently changing her appearance, wondering whether he would be able, in future, to read her prosopialities. Seeking help, he immediately began flicking through "The Dictionary of Verbotomy" and for a while little interested him, and was about to put the book down when one word arrested his eyes: the word Mienblind.
Etymology: MIEN: facial expression, demeanour, bearing, appearance,aspect; air; manner; carriage; bearing or manner, especially as it reveals an inner state of mind & BLIND: unwilling or unable to perceive or understand; not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge. PROSOPIAL: From Gk, Prosop meaning face & PILL.
Faceilliterate
Created by: pifty
Pronunciation: fejsilitereit
Sentence: he's so faceilliterate that he can't even tell wheather she likes him or thinks he's an idiot!
Etymology: face, facial + illiterate
Bemuggled
Created by: toadstool57
Pronunciation: bee-mug-uld
Sentence: Jill was bemuggled by Dave's smile. Was he laughing with her, or at her?
Etymology: befuddled, mug
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COMMENTS:
So is that why Harry Potter had such a hard time living with his Aunt and Uncle... he was bemuggled? - pinwheel, 2007-05-09: 11:11:00
funny! - Jabberwocky, 2007-05-09: 12:29:00
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Cueless
Created by: whipspeak
Pronunciation: Cueless - rhymes with clueless.
Sentence: "That guy is cueless... "
Etymology: Clueless: missing necessary information + cue (short for non-verbal cue)
Misfacialize
Created by: theguitarman47
Pronunciation: Mis-FAY-shull-ize
Sentence: My girlfriend often slaps me for misfacializing her feelings when she is sad.
Etymology:
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COMMENTS:
I hope that you are working on better facializing m'dear. - rubysoho, 2009-11-26: 11:05:00
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Visagaffe
Created by: verysimplegame
Pronunciation: Vis-ay-gaff
Sentence: Brandon's propensity to visagaffe always left him on the wrong foot in one-to-one negotiations.
Etymology: Visage (expression or countenance) + gaffe (blatant mistake or misjudgement)
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COMMENTS:
Oh, that's clever! - jedijawa, 2007-05-10: 11:44:00
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Mismugamy
Created by: bookowl
Pronunciation: miss/mug/amee
Sentence: Mismugamy is the failure to note the true meanings of facial expressions.
Etymology: miss + mug + amy
Sneermiss
Created by: mplsbohemian
Pronunciation: sneer-MIHS
Sentence: Alex sneermissed the girl in the bar, and left befuddled as to why he was drenched in mojito.
Etymology: sneer + miss (to rhyme with near-miss--in this case, it is literally nearly a miss, whereas "near-miss" usually means "near-hit".)
Emoronic
Created by: ohwtepph
Pronunciation: eh - moh - ROH - nik
Sentence: That guy was being so emoronic he thought that Renee Zelwegger's face was twitching up in a horrid manner because she just ate something extremely sour and she badly needed help. The truth is, Renee's face has always been that way. He was just being emoronic.
Etymology: emo + emotion + moronic (dumb)
Comments:
Today's definition was inspired by Cory Doctorow's short story "I, Row-Boat", where a sentient, and very sensitive Row-Boat has some difficulty reading a woman's facial expressions. See the full story in Overclocked. Thank you Cory! ~ James
MIENBLIND is very good- and far more cerebral than my entry. Good work, Ozziebob.
MaybeLater_x - 2008-08-19: 19:10:00
Visagenary is also a play on Imaginary, nay?
Today's definition was suggested by doctorow. Thank you doctorow. ~ James
ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:44:00
ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:45:00
Prosopagnosia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia Prosopagnosia (Greek: "prosopon" = "face", "agnosia" = "not knowing") is a disorder of fa