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'Nothing clever to say?'

DEFINITION: n. A clever remark, especially a "comeback line" to an insult, which does not come to mind until it is too late to be delivered; often leads to the gnashing of teeth. v. To think of something clever after it's too late.

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Verboticisms

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Witofstair

Created by: paintergrl1313

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Retart

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: re tart

Sentence: When the Drag Queen sauntered past Drew and asked him what he was looking at, he was dumbstruck. Of course, once he/she was long gone, his retart finally kicked in and he said, "You've got big hands!". He Drew his own conclusions...

Etymology: Retard ( be delayed;slow to develop)& Retort (a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)

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COMMENTS:

Kind of demeaning to use the R-word. - Koekbroer, 2012-08-02: 00:03:00

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Substingstuff

Created by: ajcor

Pronunciation: substingstuff

Sentence: she devastated him with her oneliner about his mono brow but this time he was ready for the cruel witticism and was able to substingstuff right back at her.

Etymology: subsequent to+clever, smart, sting+remark,statement,content,stuff.

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Missdiss

Created by: Insatori

Pronunciation: Miss diss

Sentence: Your response to her insult was genious, but you hesitated and missdissed.

Etymology:

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Retorture

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: ree tort chur

Sentence: Drew always became tongue-tied after the tart-tongued Ramona passed him by at school and made one of her blistering comments to him. It was only after she departed that he would think of something clever in return. This retorture replayed like a video in his head all night. He was so busy trying to be the witty racontuer that he failed to realize that she only did this to get his attention because she liked him.

Etymology: Retort (a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)& Torture (torment emotionally or mentally;the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean)

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Smilation

Created by: uhhuhokay

Pronunciation: smahyl-ley-shun

Sentence: my smilation as usual only came to me as I wathced her leave the restaurant.

Etymology:

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Lagbuttal

Created by: ErWenn

Pronunciation: /ˌlæɡˈbətl̩/

Sentence: Oddly enough, the infuriation factor of a lagbuttal seems to be inversely proportional to the length of time since the missed opportunity.

Etymology: From lag + rebuttal

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COMMENTS:

Def should be in common use. - imcvey, 2007-04-03: 05:49:00

Thanks. - ErWenn, 2007-04-04: 01:14:00

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Repartardy

mrskellyscl

Created by: mrskellyscl

Pronunciation: re-par-tar-dy

Sentence: Mike could only deliver brilliant repartardy to his mirror long after his guests had gone. He longed to be quick and witty; however, he was tongue-tied while he was being verbally filleted by his friends' good natured bantering. As the Japanese proverb says: "He had many knives -- none of them sharp."

Etymology: repartee: swift, witty reply; a conversation marked with the exchange of witty retorts + tardy: arrive or occur after the expected time

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COMMENTS:

:) - galwaywegian, 2009-10-20: 12:47:00

Cutting and pointed! - Nosila, 2009-10-21: 01:25:00

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Retrotort

Created by: caroline73

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology: combines retro - after the event - and retort.

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COMMENTS:

Good word. I bet if you put in the time to include a sample sentence, you might get a few more votes. - ErWenn, 2007-04-04: 01:15:00

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Wittischism

Created by: pinwheel

Pronunciation: wit/i/skiz/um

Sentence: John's wittischism was particularly acute as he replayed the argument in his mind three hours after the event.

Etymology: witticism (a clever remark) + schism (a division or break - in this case the break between the desire to retort and the actual thinking of the retort.

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COMMENTS:

a clever cut... - ajcor, 2007-04-03: 18:00:00

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-04-03: 00:01:00
Today's definition was suggested by mplsbohemian.
Thank you mplsbohemian! ~ James

mplsbohemian - 2007-04-03: 11:13:00
Thanks for using the definition! I specifically chose it because the French expression for this is notoriously difficult to succinctly translate into English. Perhaps you guys can help! Peace Clint

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-04-03: 11:45:00
Ah oui, "l'ésprit de l'escalier"... Merci pour la suggestion, mplsbohemian ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-10-20: 03:48:00
Today's definition was suggested by mplsbohemian. Thank you mplsbohemian. ~ James