Vote for the best verboticism.

'My wheelbarrow needs a seat...'

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.

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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.

Hawkinvestigate

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: haw kin vest igg ayt

Sentence: the hawkinvestigation of his neighbours washing line led to a big bang

Etymology: hawkin as in stephen, investigate

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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:

RightOnTheWin 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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Braintweezer

Created by: splendiction

Pronunciation: brain tweaser

Sentence: “Please don’t give me one of those braintweezers of yours right before I have to go to bed!” Paul warned his philosophy roommate Ato. Lately, Paul, Ato and a bunch of the others had been posing many mindbenders of eachother with sharp braintweezers that stimulated unused areas of the brain. “After the last braintweez, my mind’s swelling and redness lasted for days! I lost too much sleep with the throbbing thoughts in my head...although I did realize the world is really a shallow representation of the forms!”

Etymology: From the words brain and tweezer, to pinch; it is closely related to "brainteaser" but "braintweezer" causes more of a reaction in the recipient, more lateral thinking.

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COMMENTS:

Splendid word - silveryaspen, 2009-03-12: 00:51:00

Good! - kateinkorea, 2009-03-12: 22:04:00

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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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Spinquiry

Created by: rombus

Pronunciation: spin - qury

Sentence: Maude's spinquiry about whether the dingbats were making all the noise in their attic caught Clyde's attention.

Etymology: Spin and Inquiry - Spin=to turn things around, change them Inquiry=question

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COMMENTS:

Very good combination! - Banky, 2009-03-11: 11:26:00

Delightful - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:53:00

great word,rombus...spintastic - Nosila, 2009-03-12: 00:15:00

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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

metrohumanx 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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Zenquiry

Created by: bookowl

Pronunciation: zen-kwire/ee

Sentence: A zenquiry requires complete silence and meditation. The questions are open to interpretation and often surprising.

Etymology: zen + enquiry

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Queery

karenanne

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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Prodvoke

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: prädvōk

Sentence: During his weekly meetings with his staff, Larry loved to prodvoke people to think outside the box. As he was being fired, he was reminded he worked for a packaging company and that people are paid to think INSIDE the box.

Etymology: prod (an act of stimulating or reminding someone to do something) + provoke (stimulate or incite)

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COMMENTS:

carton me, but a good story! - Nosila, 2010-09-22: 18:03:00

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Stimulbait

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: stim yul bayt

Sentence: "Do you work here?" he asked to stimulbait the retail clerk. "No, I always wear an orange apron when I leave home." Ramona replied. He replied, "I need a seat, back tires, an engine, a steering wheel, a radio and a windshield for my wheelbarrow". "Whatever for, may I ask?" she asked. To which he replied, earnestly, "So that I can make a rider wheel barrow. That way I can do my garden chores faster and have fun in the process!" "Well, Honey", she said, "I am sure you can do it...I'm just not so sure we can help!"

Etymology: Stimulate (cause to be alert and energetic;stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of;cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner;provide the needed stimulus for;cause to occur rapidly) & Bait (something used to lure victims into danger or intrigue;anything that serves as an enticement;lure, entice, or entrap with bait)

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COMMENTS:

Where can I buy a barrow like that and some of your great stimulbait? - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:56:00

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Quizarre

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: kwiz-zahr

Sentence: Just to shake up her "gotta-have-the right-answer" students, the teacher gave her class a test that had nothing to do with the course of study. The teacher found it amusing. The students found it quizarre.

Etymology: quiz (an informal test or examination of a student or class) + bizarre (markedly unusual in appearance, style, or general character and often involving incongruous or unexpected elements; outrageously or whimsically strange)

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Flabberquest

Created by: Banky

Pronunciation: Flahb-burr-qwehst

Sentence: The Introduction to Vatican Law class gasped audibly as it read the first flabberquest on the exam. Father Malkinson reclined in his chair, satisfied that his students were not only now awake enough to take the exam, but that no one would get the question right, as the Pope had never even vacationed in the woods.

Etymology: (flabbergast - gast) + (question - ion)

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COMMENTS:

wonderful - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-11: 10:39:00

Wow! :-) - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:43:00

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Questvigorate

Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: qwest vig er ate

Sentence: Have you been where you thought you were? Did you return before you got back? Did you come in the out door? Does colder weather make you older? Are you getting richer now it is daylight $avings time? Isn't it fun to questvigorate?

Etymology: To go on a QUEST to INVIGORATE other's thinking by bizarre QUESTIONS is to QUESTVIGORATE.

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COMMENTS:

Please feel free to add your questvigorates. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 01:25:00

metrohumanx If a turtle loses his shell, is he homeless or naked? - metrohumanx, 2009-03-11: 01:49:00

How come we park on the driveway, but drive on the parkway? - George Carlin - Tigger, 2009-03-11: 02:12:00

How come we park on the driveway, but drive on the parkway? - George Carlin - Tigger, 2009-03-11: 02:51:00

Is catching a cold at the last station of a railway line a terminal illness? - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-11: 12:14:00

metrohumanx Why did kamikaze pilots wear crash helmets? - metrohumanx, 2009-03-11: 21:24:00

you are all so creatively mullicious and smile-licious :-) - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:51:00

How come when 2 cars meet in the course of driving, it's an Intersection, but when sex partners meet it's an intercourse?? Is this where sex drive originates? - Nosila, 2009-03-12: 00:08:00

Only when given the green light! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-12: 00:47:00

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Idiokcrazy

Created by: abrakadeborah

Pronunciation: Id-e-o-ock-cra-zee

Sentence: Darlene went to the service station to get them to check the water level in her 1977 VW beetle radiator. As she asked Joe the service station mechanic to do this...Joe could not believe the "idiokcrazy" of the car owner not knowing there was no radiator on that car! Joe just rolled his eyes in an "idiokcraziedly" way. Darlene laughed because she knew her car had no radiator... Then,her husband Dan went into the hardware store and asked a clerk an "idiokcrazy" question about the seats on his wheelbarrow (that he really only needed a new wheel for). The clerk amused Dan then continued on to ask Dan if he wanted a leather or cloth seat?

Etymology: Idio- from the word idiot ; DUMB k ; ok Crazy ; out of their mind. To think someone is not only crazy but also an idiot... :)~

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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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Quirqrelease

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: quirk ree-lees

Sentence: With a twinkle in his eye, Jack threw a quirqrelease into the business arising. The chair cracked up while the secretary's handwriting went all shaky as she stifled her laughter while taking the minutes.

Etymology: quirk (oddity) + q (for question) + release (break out) + quick release (device for emergency escapes)

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Yeastinflection

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: yeest-in-fleckt-shun

Sentence: Juanita 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' (1.A microscopic fungus) and 'inflection' (1.A change in the form of a word (typically the ending) to express a grammatical function or attribute such as tense, mood, person), and a play on words on 'yeast infection'.

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Enlighteningjolt

Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: en + lite + ten + ing + jolt

Sentence: Clyde was hit with an enlighteningjolt when Melissa told him that the recent merger between Charmin and Microsoft would contribute greatly to Cloud Computing and that Software would now become much softer.

Etymology: Enlightening + jolt >> Enlightening (tending to increase or impart knowledge) Jolt (sudden jarring impact)

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COMMENTS:

Sentence left me smiling as much for what it did say, as what it implied. You lit a fire with this one, it burns ever so brightly. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:33:00

Good word and good sentence. - kateinkorea, 2009-03-12: 22:02:00

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Mindgame

RightOnTheWin

Created by: RightOnTheWin

Pronunciation: \ˈmīnd\ˈgām\

Sentence: Derek enjoys to mindgame “slow” people so they’ll demean themselves. However, the day came when Derek himself became the victim of mindgame.

Etymology: Mind ( The conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism ) + Game (Activity engaged in for diversion or amusement)

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Interrogaugetion

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: int/ter/oh/gage/shun

Sentence: The detective threw in some crazy questions during the interrogaugetion to check and see if the suspect was listening.

Etymology: interrogation + gauge

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COMMENTS:

-excellent word! - splendiction, 2009-03-11: 22:11:00

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Whatiffing

Created by: Menotyou

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Queery

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: kwee ree

Sentence: When Nate stopped the lady at Home Depot, he asked her a real queery. He wanted to know if they sold motorized wheelbarrows or self-propelled ones. After she realized he might just be serious, she gave hm her polite answers...you just never know when Candid Camera might be lurking around...

Etymology: Query (an instance of questioning;pose a question)& Queer (beyond or deviating from the usual or expected;not as expected)

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Awakercise

artr

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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Rogitate

Created by: danagerl

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology: From the Latin words meaning "question" (rogare) and "think" (cogitate)

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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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Homedepose

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: home de pose

Sentence: When Kyle asked about a seat for his wheelbarrow, Katie the associate was used to getting homedepose idiotic questions all the time. Her experience had prepared her to think outside the box store and have a ready response.

Etymology: Home Depots (famus US home goods retailer, known for its signature orange color and pretty much in every city in USA & Canada...) & Pose (ask a question)

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Evocogitreat

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: eee-VOE-codge-a-TREET (evocogitreatment)

Sentence: Gill Bates wasn't really mullicious, but his job as a border guard had affected him in strange ways. Years of interrogating aliens caused him to ask bizarre, sometimes profound questions. Questions were his bread, and answers were his butter. Metaphors were his condiments, but only on weekends. Gill's EVOCOGITREATMENT of the language usually resulted in a far-away look shrouded in a roaring silence, but one night he ordered a pizza cut into NINE slices, causing a vessel to burst in the chef's brain. He frequently asked the goth kid at the gas station to change the air in his tires. The waitress couldn't tell him the origin of "chicken fingers", and the local policeman couldn't explain the absence of "GO" signs. When Gill asked his librarian if she had "books on paper", she had to call her supervisor. Gill Bates now spends his retirement peeling grapes and wondering what would happen if an atomic bomb was detonated in the eye of a hurricane. Perhaps he should EVOCOGITREAT the French Ambassador.....They'd probably love to detonate a low-yield nuke in the South Pacific...and it wouldn't bother them ATOLL!

Etymology: EVOke+COGITate+tREAT= EVOCOGITREAT.....EVOKE:to call forth, conjure, to re-create imaginatively, to bring to mind, tending to induce an especially emotional response; French évoquer, from Latin evocare, from e- + vocare to call .....COGITATE: (transitive verb ) to ponder or meditate on very intently; Latin cogitatus, past participle of cogitare to think, think about, from co- + agitare to drive, agitate.....TREAT: to present or represent artistically ,to deal with in speech, writing or action; Middle English treten, from Anglo-French treter, traiter, traitier, from Latin tractare to drag about, handle, deal with, frequentative of trahere to drag, pull.

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COMMENTS:

Evocogitreat is mullicious, both are delightful and great creates. - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:36:00

Do leaderships swim? - silveryaspen, 2009-03-11: 21:38:00

Since metaphors are his condiments, I don't relish trying to ketchup with Gill! He mustard gone to the Mayo clinic...good story! - Nosila, 2009-03-12: 00:12:00

Another GREAT create :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-03-25: 14:03:00

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-03-11: 00:01:01
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-09-22: 00:03:00
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James