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'Eat! Or you'll turn into a boneless chicken.'

DEFINITION: n., Cautionary advice provided by parents to their children, often makes no logical sense but carries enough emotional weight to affect the child's behavior. v. To warn of danger through the judicious use of exaggeration.

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Verboticisms

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Emochide

Created by: AlohaJo

Pronunciation: E-mo-ch-I-de

Sentence: The boy, after disobeying his father's warning, had to sit through a lengthy emochide.

Etymology: emotional+ chide

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Causham

Created by: Rehlit

Pronunciation: kaw-sham

Sentence: Many parents use an insidious causham to frighten their naughty children. Such as "If you eat watermelon seeds, a watermelon will grow in your stomach!"

Etymology: Caution(a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning) + sham (something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation; fraud or hoax; pretended; counterfeit; feigned:)

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Guidunce

Created by: remistram

Pronunciation: ghy-duhns

Sentence: "Do as I say, not as I do" was the most important guidunce her Mum ever gave her.

Etymology: guidance + dunce

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COMMENTS:

great word - Jabberwocky, 2007-09-28: 12:06:00

Great Word! Accurate sentence in a lot of cases! - Scrumpy, 2007-09-28: 13:22:00

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Exaggerary

Created by: abrakadeborah

Pronunciation: ex-aj-er-rare-e

Sentence: Red was such an exaggerary clucker when it came to dealing with his baby chicks.

Etymology: Exagger- Taken in part from the word >Exaggeration-The act of exaggerating or overstating. Ary- A suffix occurring originally in loanwords. Also taken in part for the word cautionary.

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Scarefication

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: skair-uh-fi-key-shuhn

Sentence: Mother hen believes in the use of scarefication to keep her chicks in line. A little lie here, an exaggeration there, all pecked into their little psyches until they are afraid to do anything wrong.

Etymology: scare (to fill, especially suddenly, with fear or terror; frighten; alarm) Scarification (scratching, etching, burning/branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification)

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Nitpeck

DrWebsterIII

Created by: DrWebsterIII

Pronunciation: nit - 'pek

Sentence: Henny Penny was always nitpecking her child repeatedly to the point of his premature hair loss!

Etymology: from nitpick (pedantic,scrupulous( but more annoying when pecked with a sharp beak or tongue)

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COMMENTS:

Pullet-ically correct word! - Nosila, 2012-10-31: 01:56:00

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Lieperbole

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: līpərbəlē

Sentence: ”If you make a face, it could get stuck that way”, ”Behave because Santa is watching”, ”This is for your own good”. Many parents use lieperbole to keep their children in line.

Etymology: lie (an intentionally false statement) + hyperbole (exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally)

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COMMENTS:

Very nice. For the win, in my opinion. - mchristof, 2011-06-12: 23:50:00

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Yolklaw

Created by: wordslikevenom

Pronunciation: Yolk-law

Sentence: "Cluck, cluck, cluck", mother was laying down the yolklaw yet again.

Etymology: Yolk - middle part of an egg. Law - a rule or the whole system of such rules.

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Mythconduct

Created by: Tigger

Pronunciation: /mith-kon-dukt/

Sentence: Donna stared wistfully at her friends splashing in the pool, and glanced up at the clock again — it'd been only 53 minutes since she'd eaten that banana — seven more minutes before she could go back in the pool. Her mother had warned her many times that going into the water less than an hour after eating would inevitably cause cramps, which were somehow always fatal. 'Would she die from drowning or from the cramps themselves?' she wondered. What if she just dangled her legs in the water? No, it was just too risky. She couldn't overcome the mythconduct her mother had instilled into her. Six minutes and forty five seconds to go...

Etymology: Myth - any invented story, idea, or concept (from Greek, mythos "speech, story") + Conduct - personal behavior; way of acting (from Latin, conductus "to lead or bring together")

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COMMENTS:

metrohumanx I always doubted this prohibition. I even sent it in to "Mythbusters"....to no avail. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-29: 06:00:00

Well, Mythbusters did prove that you shouldn't spin around in a makeshift wirlpool too soon after eating pizza. Funny episode. But I'm convinced that the 1-hour 'no swimming' rule is nonsense. But I knew kids whose mothers wouldn't even let them stand in the wading pool because of that rule. - Tigger, 2008-08-29: 10:12:00

Good word - TJayzz, 2008-08-29: 13:43:00

Welcome back, Tigger, we mythed you! - Nosila, 2008-08-29: 20:09:00

This one is my favorite, well done! - Rehlit, 2008-09-01: 00:50:00

Good word there Tigger, it has a nice ring to it! I like the way you think :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-03-14: 19:07:00

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Hyperpoultry

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: hi per pol tree

Sentence: "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" is what young Eggbert had heard since he was hatched. This was an example of the hyperpoultry his parents used on him to control his natural curiousity. If he did not die from fowl play, he hoped instead to become a fryer in a monastery, if he could pullet it off!

Etymology: Hyperbole (extravagant exaggeration) & Poultry (fowl,a domesticated gallinaceous bird)

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-09-28: 00:01:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram! ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-01-20: 00:25:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James