Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To ask a someone a bizarre question in order to get them to think outside their mental little boxes. (And to see if they are actually listening.) n. A creative provocation designed to pull people out of their daily stupor.
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.
Evoqunotion
Created by: kateinkorea
Pronunciation: ee VOKE que NO sheun
Sentence: Several times a year Dr. Miller would lay an evoqunotion on us, to get us to think outside the box. He would suddenly ask us a question that seemed very complicated and difficult, or even impossible. Usually the solution was to look for another way of interpreting the question. Of course he always used the classic ‘nine-dot’ creativity puzzle at some point in the semester-the originator of the thinking outside the box concept. Initially the students would stress over these questions for days, but near the end of the semester the students were waiting with bated breath for the next one to come out.
Etymology: EVOKE: prompt, spur QUERY: question NOTION: idea EVOLUTION: change over time
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COMMENTS:
what a foxy outboxy creative sentence. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:41:00
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Freaquest
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: free kwest
Sentence: She was very pretty, but complying with her freaquest would have involved a misdemeanor, two felonies and at least four visits to a chiropractor
Etymology: request, freak
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COMMENTS:
that must have been one freaky question - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-11: 11:23:00
very freakgestive - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:46:00
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Stunmulate
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: stun myu layt
Sentence: When the geek asked Elvira for a seat for his wheelbarrow, she, being the quintessential helpful sales associate quipped quickly to the question designed to stunmulate her out of a boring sales day. He told her it needed a seat and she proceeded to flourish her tape measure and tell him that if he needed to ride in the wheelbarrow, he'd need a safety approved seat belt, a helmet and a made-to-measure bucket seat. They just needed to measure his seat area...all part of the service.
Etymology: Stun (overcome as with astonishment or disbelief) & Stimulate (cause to be alert and energetic;cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner)
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COMMENTS:
I like it `.' - RightOnTheWin, 2010-09-22: 03:02:00
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Enigmachination
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: en/ig/mak/in/ay/shun
Sentence: The professor liked to jolt the students into clearer thought by beginning each class with an enigmachination.
Etymology: enigma + machination (trick, ruse)
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COMMENTS:
Terrific idea===== Great idea and word - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:29:00
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Rogitate
Created by: danagerl
Pronunciation:
Sentence:
Etymology: From the Latin words meaning "question" (rogare) and "think" (cogitate)
Stunundrum
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /stun-'un-drum/
Sentence: Trying to 'chat up' the receptionist at the veterinarians office, Stuart idly asked her, "So why do they say you're getting your dog 'fixed' when really it doesn't work anymore afterwords? People ought to say they're taking the dog to get 'broken' instead, shouldn't they?" By the blank, slack-jawed look she gave him, he realized he'd overwhelmed her with a Stunundrum. He just sighed, sat back down and petted Rascal for awhile - at least Rascal seemed to pretend to understand his jokes.
Etymology: Stun (from O.Fr. estoner) - to astonish, overpower or bewilder. + Conundrum (pseudo-Latin) - a riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.
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COMMENTS:
excellent! - galwaywegian, 2009-03-11: 06:47:00
Perhaps Stu should've had the dog
TUTORED instead.... - metrohumanx, 2009-03-11: 21:26:00
Marvelous word - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:57:00
Really good word! I like the way it sounds :) Good Job! - abrakadeborah, 2009-03-14: 18:58:00
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Queery
Created by: karenanne
Pronunciation: KWEE ree
Sentence: Ms. Luny, our 7th-grade science teacher, loved to pose queeries that really made us think. My favorite one of all time was, "Why doesn't the sun come out at night when we need it?"
Etymology: query (question) + queer (strange; odd; peculiar)
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COMMENTS:
brilliant - galwaywegian, 2010-09-23: 14:28:00
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Awakercise
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: əwākərsīz
Sentence: Tony had trouble getting up in the morning until he discovered Verbotomy. Now he uses it as his awakercise to get his muddled gray matter out of its nocturnal vegetative state.
Etymology: awake (stop sleeping; wake from sleep) + exercise (a task or activity done to practice or test a skill)
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COMMENTS:
zzzzzzz..Huh? - wayoffcenter, 2009-03-11: 08:23:00
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Yeastinflection
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: yeest-in-fleckt-shun
Sentence: Jeanetta had a very 'bubbly' personality and a bit of an off-the-wall skew on life in general and she often tried to get a 'rise' out of people by putting a bit of a yeastinflection in her approach and would ask seemingly pointless questions in order to goad her companions into making responses to what were sometimes very personal matters.
Etymology: yeast and inflection, and a play on words on 'yeast infection'.
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COMMENTS:
-oh, I wouln't want one of these! - splendiction, 2009-03-11: 22:09:00
You got a rise out of me, mustang...dough! - Nosila, 2009-03-12: 00:14:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James