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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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Badmonition

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: bad-mo-ni-shun

Sentence: Know for her dark predictions, Grandma offered another of her badmonitions when she told us that eating too much candy would stunt our growth.

Etymology: bad + admonition

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Parenfiction

Created by: PeeJaY

Pronunciation: PAIR-REN-FIK-SHON

Sentence: Alice was adept at providing all sorts of parenfiction to stop here eleven sons from fighting with each other.

Etymology: A conjoining of Parent and Fiction describing the untruths manufactured by desperate parents.

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Imparable

Created by: porsche

Pronunciation: im/par/a/bul

Sentence: A typical imparable would be the story of the bogeyman

Etymology: impair (damage) + parable (short story used to teach a lesson)

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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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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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Humumbug

vixphilia

Created by: vixphilia

Pronunciation: hum-MUM-bug

Sentence: Mum was feding me her usual humumbug: "If you keep making ugly faces,it will freeze like that!"

Etymology: Humbug: pretentious or silly talk Mum: Mother

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Yarnstay

Created by: jimtastic

Pronunciation: Yarn (as in barn)...stay (as in may)

Sentence: The yarnstay of going blind from playing with one's own thingamabob or puffinstuff has been passed on from older generations to younger generations for centuries.

Etymology: yarn: a word only used by grandmothers relating a tale, esp. a long story of adventure or incredible happenings / stay: to suspend or delay (actions, proceedings, etc.).

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COMMENTS:

Great blend of Old English words. - OZZIEBOB, 2007-09-30: 18:07:00

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Dominprations

Created by: readerwriter

Pronunciation: DOM-in-pray-shuns

Sentence: Mother Hen, like most parental units, was given to dominprations whenever she got the chance, so worried was she that Little Clucky wouldn't make it to 12 weeks, his age of personal acountability. But, what did L.C. know--he was an adolescent and a major risk taker.

Etymology: From dominate, Latin domis, to exert supreme control + prate, idle chatter

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Exaggerisk

Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: ex - aj - ur - isk

Sentence: Shelly tended to exaggerisk when she talked to her boys about the dangers lurking in the neighborhood. She was a bit paranoid after seeing the movie about vampires infiltrating rural towns where they might go unnoticed.

Etymology: exaggerate, risk

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COMMENTS:

artr Mom is just making sure her kids are exaggeready. - artr, 2010-01-20: 12:31:00

There's a New Moon at Twilight! - Nosila, 2010-01-20: 19:23:00

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Propagationganda

MrDave2176

Created by: MrDave2176

Pronunciation: prop-uh-GEY-shuhn-gan-da

Sentence: Despite all of my mother's propagationganda my eyes never did "stick that way".

Etymology: Propagation:to breed + (propa)ganda : to disseminate information (or rumors)

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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