Vote for the best verboticism.

'I said to dress business casual!'

DEFINITION: n. The feeling of anxiety created by the realization that you've arrived at a social event "wearing the wrong thing". v. To arrive at a social function and suddenly realize that you are you are completely over-dressed or worse -- under-dressed!

Create | Read

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.

Clothesbasketcase

Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: close - bas - ket - case

Sentence: Tom, master in dressing, wore a feather in his cap. Tom went skinny dipping. Undressed down to his bare bones, he felt a bit disarmed. Tom wanted to spice things up with his finely-feathered girlfrhend, so he tried dressing sagely. Alas! Tom was not sage enough, to avoid a turkey trot down the aisle. In tux and tails, he felt a bit awfowl. He was a tad wedding disdressed. No matter! Whatever he wore, he'd feel like a clothes basket case.

Etymology: Clothes - dress/attire. Basket Case: anyone suffering severe nervous strain

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Fowl play indeed, silveryaspen! He'll be hen-pecked for sure for plucking this girl...with a drumstick. Poultry in motion. - Nosila, 2008-02-25: 00:57:00

Wow, with that feather in his cap - makes me think of Yankee Doodle! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-02-25: 19:19:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Naughtcouture

libertybelle

Created by: libertybelle

Pronunciation: nawt-co-toor

Sentence: Trevor realized that he was sporting his finest example of naughtcouture when he chose to hear his tuxedo style t-shirt to his sister's black tie wedding.

Etymology: naughty + haute couture

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

This won't be aught/aut/out of my mind for a long time! Very notable! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 13:19:00

Very good verboticism. - Mustang, 2008-02-25: 17:26:00

I LIKE IT! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-02-25: 19:14:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Bluetie

Created by: ErWenn

Pronunciation: /ˈblu ˈtaɪ/

Sentence: My plaid shorts and tye-dye t-shirt were definitely inappropriate for the formal dance, but then again, they'd probably be blue-tie for just about any situation.

Etymology: indicating the wrong color tie with respect to a "black tie" or "white tie" dress code

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

You collared it! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 12:52:00

So very clever! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-02-25: 19:23:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Afearance

Created by: FuzzBuzz

Pronunciation:

Sentence: He was overwhelmed by afearance when he realized he had just shown up to a business meeting in an elmo-patterned speedo.

Etymology: fear + appearance

| Comments and Points

Apparalysed

Created by: emdeejay

Pronunciation: Apparel eyes'd

Sentence: Todd was a creative and exuberant fellow whose wardrobe was so extensive, it had been described by his friends as being "Bigger than Texas". Unfortunately, his addiction to fashion had grown to be a very expensive habit, and had begun to place a great strain on his relationship with Betsy, his far more conservative partner. In an attempt to spice things up, Todd raced home one evening and adorned himself with a rather fetching pair of magenta underpants. Just as he was about to wrap himself in his favourite leopardskin loincloth, Betsy burst in, aghast! Poor Todd. He was normally apparalysed after he'd arrived at the party, not before he'd finished getting dressed!

Etymology: Apparel: see clothing. Paralysed: see Todd.

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Especially like the "eyes'd", as the magenta speedos have real impact on the vicariously apparelysed observer. - dochanne, 2008-12-08: 04:04:00

Captivating Create. Captures that feeling when everyone is staring, that makes us unable to move. - silveryaspen, 2008-12-08: 13:03:00

Magenta underwear-Bloody hell! Good word. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-12-13: 16:08:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Underduress

swallowedbyafish

Created by: swallowedbyafish

Pronunciation: un-der-der-ess

Sentence: The death stares of the audience made him feel like he was in the middle of being interrogated by Jack Bauer. He realized he had underduressed.

Etymology: underdress + under duress

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

This will stand up in any court of justice! Your sentence and word are lawesomely clever! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 13:38:00

Your verboticism was one of the few that captures the 'feeling of anxiety' in the definition. I thought it excellent in every way! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 21:25:00

I like it - bookowl, 2008-02-26: 13:30:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Dressaster

Created by: OZZIEBOB

Pronunciation: Dres-ZAH-ster

Sentence: When Bob arrived late, dressed in drag, to Roxie company's pantological conference, she immediately knew it was the beginning of a janetic dressaster.

Etymology: DRESSASTER:Dress & disaster JANETIC: a la Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Superbowl a couple of years ago.

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Janetic is fantastic! I wish that a janet jackson might some day become an eponym like sad sack! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 13:09:00

Excellent! - Mustang, 2008-02-25: 17:25:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Emperormental

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: em-pera-men-tel

Sentence: Barenadette was highly emperormental when she made a grand entrance at what she thought was the Indy Ball in her nanokini, (after all it was October on the Gold Coast) only to find that the A1 crowd were a much more staid group. She should have worn her one piece swimsuit instead.

Etymology: emperor (Andersen's famous emperor was very temperamental when he realised that his new clothes in fact did not exist) + mental (state of mind) + temperamental (emotional)

| Comments and Points

Cladaclysm

Created by: Tigger

Pronunciation: /klad-uh-kliz-um/

Sentence: Jason figured that the 'Save the Rainforest' fundraiser that Debbie had invited him to would be attended by a bunch of hippies and tree-huggers. When he showed up in a tie-dye tee shirt and Birkenstock sandals at the 'black tie' event, it was a total cladaclysm — Jason was terribly embarrassed, and Debbie was simply mortified.

Etymology: Clad - clothed or dressed; covered in material (Old English, clāthod "clothed") + Cataclysm - a disaster [natural or social] (from Greek, kataklysmós "flood")

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Oh, Father, pray for our clothes now and at the time of our disdress! Leaving religion out of it, it's a spectacular creation! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 12:54:00

Good word! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-02-25: 19:20:00

Man, I woulda done the same thing as Jason. Only I'd have worn a black tie to go with my tye dye shirt. - ErWenn, 2008-02-25: 19:59:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Couturishorriblis

Created by: CanadianAndyCapp

Pronunciation: Coo-tuu-ris-hore-ib-lis

Sentence: The Recent Academy Awards present the finest example of Couturishorriblis known to exist

Etymology: Couture- General fashion creativity or knowledge / horriblis- Royal term for a total C&%k Up.

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

hear hear - but they are interesting to see - Jabberwocky, 2008-02-25: 13:37:00

So True! Triple grand slam! - silveryaspen, 2008-02-25: 14:21:00

Very topical - and so true! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-02-25: 19:22:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...

 

Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2008-02-25: 00:01:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-05-06: 00:03:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James