Verboticisms

Created by: karenanne

Pronunciation: tek STINCT

Sentence: Why is it that the VHS video format is considered boring and old-fashioned, while both the Beta tapes and the Beta machines required to play them, which are even older, are now considered "retro" and "cute?" I guess the closer something gets to becoming techstinct, the cooler it becomes for collectors due to its rarity.

Etymology: tech + extinct

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Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: pas say im pur fect

Sentence: Young Billy adored his grandfather and loved it when the old geezer told him stories about the passéimperfect. He knew his grandpa made this stuff up, but he loved to hear about the good old days anyway and in particular about the ancient tools they used. He regaled Billy with yarns about how his phone had numbers that went round and round when he stuck his finger in the holes for each set of numbers. Grandpa also told him about watching tv shows on the one channel in black & white and for some reason you needed a rabbit's ears to see the tiny picture better. (As if!) He also told him of cooking without using a microwave (yeah, right!) and buying big blocks of ice to keep everything in the fridge cold (you've got to be kidding!). That crazy Grandpa, he told Billy that a log on was something you put on a bonfire and that a link was something you put on your sleeves to keep the cuffs closed. He said a password was something you spoke into a grill on a door to get into a speak-easy (must be some kind of spellcheck for voice actioned computers?) Billy loved the really old things that Grandpa gave him. Like most boys his age, he loved dinosaurs. He was so excited today, because Grandpa was coming over and bringing him a thesaurus...he couldn't wait to play with it!

Etymology: passé (out of fashion) & past imperfect (grammar: tense imperfect refers to an action that is uncompleted or abandoned)

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COMMENTS:

Rrrawr! Oh no, here comes the fierce Thesaurus Rex!... That's hilarious. - Tigger, 2008-03-14: 03:09:00

All that was makes me curious about what is to come! Great etymology ... conveys the way passages from the old ... lead to the knew ... growing, evolving, better and better ... perfecting! A Perfectly wonderful sentence and word! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-14: 17:08:00

Thanks, Tigger & silveryaspen. I always thought the best name for the Toronto NBA Team was TorontoSaurus Wrecks...but no one would listen... - Nosila, 2008-03-14: 23:16:00

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Created by: Jamagra

Pronunciation: ster'/e/o/lith

Sentence: Jacob cringed in embarrassment at every soccer game. When would his parents get rid of that stereolithic camera they had and get with the digital age? It was completely humiliating... especially when the flip flash blinded his teammates just as they tried to score a goal.

Etymology: stereo - three dimensional (as in stereoscopic photography & stereotype print); also stereophonic sound reproduction + monolith - something formed of a single slab of stone

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COMMENTS:

Innovative etymology and word. Well done! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-14: 18:03:00

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Created by: Fester361

Pronunciation: rel ee cas ett

Sentence: After several ours wasted, playing on their Nintendo Wii, Mike's kids were bored and decided to explore the attic. Rummaging through old boxes, they came across some mysterious plastic slabs, that appeared to have reels of tape inside. "Dad, how do we get the tape out?" they shouted. "You need to use the relicassette player," he replied. Mike went up into the attic and retrieved a giant metal machine with a huge A4 sized flap on the top. At the press of a button, the flap shot open and all manner of insects flew out. When switched on, the lights in the house went dim and the circuit breaker tripped. "I guess I should have copied these to DVD!" Mike said.

Etymology: Relic; an antiquity that has survived from the distant past. Cassette; A rigid or flexible light-tight container for holding radiographic recording media.

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COMMENTS:

Please be gentle, it's my first (of many, I hope) attempt. - Fester361, 2008-03-16: 04:44:00

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Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: gram pa fone

Sentence: The boys loved going to visit Grampa, because he had so many neat old-fashioned gizmos that they had never seen before. One of their favourites was the grampaphone. It was a gramophone that played very old songs on 78 rpm records. It needed wound up all the time. Their parents were amazed that the boys knew the words to very old vaudeville, burlesque and music hall songs. They knew all the songs recorded by Al Jolson, Gracie Fields, George Formby, Edith Piaf, Rudy Vallee and Fats Waller among others. Their folks knew they spent too much time on the grampaphone, when they said goodbye to their teacher, Mrs. Jones. They would croon to her, "Toot-Toot-Tootsie goodbye, Toot-Toot-Tootsie, don't cry..."

Etymology: Gramophone (an antique record player; the sound of the vibrating needle is amplified acoustically) & Grampa (your father or mother's father; the affectionate term for a grandfather)

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COMMENTS:

A Grampaphone could also be that odd black plastic device that plugs into the wall and works like a cell with an anchor. - artr, 2010-05-24: 07:54:00

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Created by: artr

Pronunciation: out-deyt-uhd

Sentence: She was so happy to finally be able to purchase her first Zip Drive and later upgrade to a Jazz Drive only to see them completely outdatad.

Etymology: outdated (make antiquated or obsolete) + data (a body of facts; information)

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Created by: FreakyDeak

Pronunciation: Pro-toe-gram

Sentence: Still using your brain to think? It's such a protogram. Try google, you Neanderthal.

Etymology: Proto(prefix meaning earliest form of something) + Program

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Created by: OZZIEBOB

Pronunciation: old-WANG-sine

Sentence: Computers, voice mail and all those other modern gizmoes were not what Bob dreamed of, he yearned for the clatter of the typewriter and the world of wordprocessors, and the days of auldwangsyne.

Etymology: The Wang Co.founded in 1954, makers of typewriters and early word processors & "auld lang syne" expression meaning "days of long ago"

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COMMENTS:

bittersweet just like the song - Jabberwocky, 2008-03-14: 14:21:00

Nostalgic! A tribute to the byte-gone ways! Has such great heart! Exceptional! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-14: 18:26:00

Should ALT acquaintents be ForMat and never brought to Mines... - Nosila, 2008-03-14: 23:20:00

Very technostalgic! Does anyone remember those 8-inch floppy disks? I think some of the Wangs had those... - Tigger, 2008-03-15: 15:10:00

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Created by: catgrin

Pronunciation: me-dee-duh

Sentence: They look cool, but Mayan calendars are just mediduh. I mean, can you coordinate meetings on those things?!?

Etymology: From "media" and "duh"

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Created by: queenjane75

Pronunciation: un-rad-e-yo

Sentence: Dad gave me an unradio again, want it?

Etymology: a radio that is not rad.

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