Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To talk to, encourage and advise inanimate objects, in hopes that they will work better. n. A person who talks to their tools, cars, kitchen appliances, furniture, or whatever...
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.
Woktalk
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: wok tok
Sentence: Judy talked to her appliances. She'd have a toaster toast; a spout shout; a fridge bitch; a kettle prattle and her favourite was a woktalk. She loved to stir-fry gossip and chopped vegetables with her fancy new wok, Wokker, the Texas Ranger. He understood her better than her husband and didn't argue back. One day, Judy and Wokker plotted the demise of her hubby, Ralph. By having a woktalk with her sharp knife, David Bowie and her ax, Nurse Hatchet, Judy's plan to eliminate an animate object was coming together. Ralph's shaver, Darth Razor, overheard the plotting and yelled at Ralph, "Run, don't Wok!"
Etymology: Wok (pan with a convex bottom; used for frying in Chinese cooking) & Talk (express in speech)
Neurhetorical
Created by: silveryaspen
Pronunciation: nur rhet or a cle
Sentence: We all give in to that pixilated urge to talk to objects. Here are some examples of neurhetoricals. "Please, please, start" the mechanic begged the groaning car that would not spring to life. The painter said to his brush "Don't be such a drip." Watching impatiently, Emeril said to the water for pasta "How long is it going to take you to come to a boil?" When it did, Emeril praised it with his famous "Bam!" Then of course, the opposite of a neurhetorical can happen, too. For example, the little boy with a face smeared by chocolate icing explained to his mother "The cake kept calling to me, mom. Honest! It kept saying 'lick me, lick me!'"
Etymology: NEUROSIS -a mild disorder, one where an individual succumbs to the urge to talk to objects. RHETORICAL - relating to the skill of using language effectively and persuasively. RHETORICAL QUESTION - question asked for effect that neither expects nor requires an answer. The last part of this verbotomy is homonymous with ORACLE - an object, that has become a shrine, people visit to ask questions and seek advice; the most famous being the Delphic Oracle of Apollo. Such people are beyond nuerhetorical, because they expect the shrine to answer!
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COMMENTS:
great combo silvery - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-25: 15:23:00
Good word...it's like when donuts call your name or something in a store window says, "Buy me, Buy Me!" - Nosila, 2009-03-25: 15:44:00
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Toolekinesis
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: tule/eh/kin/ee/sis
Sentence: Sam thought that by means of toolekinesis he could build his deck at record speed. He took it as a personal affront and considered it a rebellion when he accidentally screwed his foot onto a plank.
Etymology: tool + telekinesis
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COMMENTS:
Is Sam related to Tim the toolman on the tv show Home Improvement? - silveryaspen, 2009-03-25: 14:48:00
It's such a cute creation I can't help exclaiming Holy Tooledo! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-25: 14:53:00
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Frwrench
Created by: mweinmann
Pronunciation: fur - rench
Sentence: Suzy slowly turned the bolt and this time; used soothing words spoken in frwrench. It seemed to work as the wrench smoothly fit over the bolt and responded to her parisian accent. Job done, thought Suzy as she tipped her beret....
Etymology: french (a romantic languate), wrench (a tool used to tighten bolts).
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COMMENTS:
tres bien! - Nosila, 2010-10-07: 21:52:00
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Automobabble
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: aw-tuh-moh-bab-uhl
Sentence: In lieu of scheduled service on his car Tim talks to his Civic. His automobabble can be better described as begging or cajoling. "I know it's cold, please start today. Com'on baby don't quit on me. Get me home and I'll give you a little oil tomorrow".
Etymology: automobile (a passenger vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine) + babble (to talk idly, irrationally, excessively, or foolishly; chatter or prattle)
Objecterize
Created by: abrakadeborah
Pronunciation: Ob-jek-ter-ize
Sentence: In Sally's sleepless thoughts she would often objecterize an ax across flying across the room to clunk her sleeping husband in the head with...so he would stop snoring.
Etymology: Taken from the word ~ Object -Something perceptible by one or more of the senses, especially by vision or touch; a material thing. 2. A focus of attention, feeling, thought, or action: an object of contempt.
Axecent
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: aks sent
Sentence: When Wanda spoke to her ax, Blade, she spoke with an axecent, in the hopes that her husband, Biff, would not understand. His open-mouth snoring and drooling had gotten on her nerves. Log-cutter or not, it was time to ax him from her life. His bad habits annoyed her and she found him incredibly boring. When Wanda felt this way, she knew she had to act and get a replacement quickly. She needed to make room for husband #4, Axel, someone far more suited to her. He was handsome, rich and wanted her badly. She spoke tenderly in her axecent to Blade and encouraged him to use his power on the hapless Biff. She persuaded him to do the deed and bury him in the back yard with the first 3 husbands who annoyed her. They were dead only because she could not hack them anymore!
Etymology: Ax (an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle; to terminate) & Accent (a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a vowel to indicate a special pronunciation;distinctive manner of oral expression)
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COMMENTS:
What a hilarious story....great word. - mweinmann, 2009-03-25: 08:46:00
If ever discovered, she could claim it was an axident! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-25: 09:57:00
axcellent - galwaywegian, 2009-03-25: 11:26:00
I think ax might need an accomplice to bury #3 - perhaps she would have to enlist the shove(woo)l - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-25: 15:19:00
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Relationchip
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: ree lay shun chip
Sentence: Sylvia believed that wood was alive, so she tried to develop a relationchip with all things wooden, from tree hugging to joining splinter groups
Etymology: relationship, chip
Utensilexicon
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: yew-tens-uhl-LEX-eh-kon
Sentence: Rhoda had developed her own very extensive utensilexicon, a language whereby she actually believed she could communicate with and encourage her kitchen utensils and appliances as well as other tools to behave in ways beneficial to her.
Etymology: Blend of 'utensil' (any instrument, vessel, or tool serving a useful purpose) and 'lexicon' (the vocabulary of a particular language, field, social class, person, etc)
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COMMENTS:
You picked excellent words for your etymology! Slides over the tongue nicely, too. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-25: 10:01:00
nice word - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-25: 15:26:00
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Autopomorphize
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: ôtōpəmɔrfaɪz
Sentence: Most couples have ups and downs in their relationships. John and Camaro are no exception. Some mornings he has to sweet talk her just to get her to turn over. When she is happy she practically purrs. John’s male friends understand how he could autopomorphize his car. His female friends are just a little jealous of Cammy.
Etymology: auto (a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people) + anthropomorphize (the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by mweinmann. Thank you mweinmann. ~ James
silveryaspen - 2009-03-25: 11:08:00
It was such a good definition and quite a challenge today, mweinmann!
silveryaspen - 2009-03-25: 11:15:00
You don't have to ax me, I'll tell you James ... your cartoon succeeded in producing a lot of angstiety and axiety!
mweinmann - 2009-03-25: 11:21:00
Glad you liked it Silvery but, yes, it was a challenging one. I really enjoyed the cartoon....as usual.
Thank you again silvery and mweinmann. It is funny idea, because it is what we do. At least it is what I do, especially when I am working on the computer. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by mweinmann. Thank you mweinmann. ~ James