Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v., To read a person's face and interpret what they are actually thinking, even if they are trying to conceal their true feelings. n., The skill of reading people's faces, especially micro-expressions.
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.
Ekman
Created by: CDH167
Pronunciation: eck man
Sentence: I thought I could lie with a straight face, but when I got home, my wife totally ekmanned me.
Etymology: From Paul Ekman, the psychologist who discovered microexpressions.
Facesper
Created by: zxvasdf
Pronunciation: Faces per
Sentence: She would sit in the middle of pedestrian traffic and be engulfed in emotion, her delicate talent facespering strains of thoughts from the expressions of strangers that streamed past her like writhing eels in a current. A facesper like her had a tendency towards a delicacy in bone structure and diminutiveness in size, as if the swell of emotion splayed on the faces of the world caused the body to shrink inwards. Facesperate attempts by non-sensitives were the subject of ridicule by true facespers.
Etymology: Face (anterior part of the skull) & ESP (Extra Sensory Perception)& -er (one that has)
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COMMENTS:
I like how you incorporated the ESP into your word - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-16: 15:54:00
What a beautifully lyrical sentence. Bravo! - metrohumanx, 2008-10-17: 12:24:00
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Visagenary
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: viz ah jen ari
Sentence: Victor had visagenary skills. His ability to tell whether or not a person was lying was legendary. This skill had stood him well through his life and was very handy when dealing with the children he taught in school. He taught them that the truth was their only option, because you could never tell who had this power besides him. It helped while dating (her lips were smiling but her eyes weren't...) And he could have been a human lie detector for the CIA or FBI or the police. Victor figured as long as he had the gift, he might as well earn some money with it. That's when he started on the Celebrity Poker circuit and won millions with his visagenary talents!
Etymology: Visage (the human face; the appearance conveyed by a person's face) & Visionary (a person with unusual powers of foresight,seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing)
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COMMENTS:
great word - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-16: 15:52:00
Excellent! - Mustang, 2008-10-16: 19:34:00
First-rate word, that. - metrohumanx, 2008-10-17: 07:47:00
Terrific - OZZIEBOB, 2008-10-19: 00:31:00
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Faceseelity
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: face/see/li/tee
Sentence: She had an uncanny faceseelity which made her everyone's favourite waitress. When you ordered the fruit salad she knew you really wanted the hot fudge sundae.
Etymology: face + see + facility
Tellepathy
Created by: MrDave2176
Pronunciation: tel-EHP-ath-ee
Sentence: Maria's tellepathy was uncanny. She correctly read the disappointment on her son's face at his bag lunch options, and picked up on her husband's stress at his upcoming meeting. She tossed a candy bar into her son's lunch and spent a few extra seconds hugging her husband at the door to make things smoother.
Etymology: tell (the small nuances of behavior that poker players read in games) + (tel)epathy
Psychodrifting
Created by: metrohumanx
Pronunciation: SIGH-coe-DRIFT-ing (psychodrifter;psychodrifted)
Sentence: Trudy and Dave were a modern "new-age" couple-Trudy believed she had extra-sensory powers bequeathed to her by her Gypsy heritage, and Dave thought he could brow-dowse anyone's deepest thoughts- even though he regularly lost all the rent money in high-stakes poker games. Through the use of crystals,aromatherapy and meditation, they both became adept at PSYCHODRIFTING the innermost thoughts of anyone they met. Trudy and Dave firmly believed in their ability to PSYCHODRIFT other's intentions - until they lost a fortune in the stock market, were audited by the IRS, and mugged on the way home from the clairvoyant's convention.
Etymology: PSYCHO+DRIFTING=PSYCHODRIFTING..... PSYCHO:prefix relating to imaginary paranormal perceptions;a deranged or psychopathic person —not used technically.....DRIFTING: idiomatic expression derived from "do you get my drift?" implying understanding;alternatively, spinning one's wheels with a subsequent loss of mental traction;to become carried along subject to no guidance or control.
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COMMENTS:
Whatever you don't follow that shot, she rang those words out with all she got
With a baby and the laundry in the Chevrolet, well he thought about following anyway
But he drove 'em to the strip mall laundromat,
In his three day beard and his red man hat
Trudy washed their bell bottom jeans, while that baby just sat there lookin' mean .....
Trudy and Dave
They're out of their minds.....
Well David put a match to a Lucky Strike
And the smoke curled up 'round his head how he liked,
It made him feel a little mysterious
'Til Trudy said "David honey, what about us?"
So he thought about them and those shots ringing out
And other things he shouldn't be thinking about
Like how it wasn't them at all, just life that was mean
And how a twenty dollar pistol made him feel so clean .....
Trudy and Dave-they're out of they're minds.....
Well Trudy and Dave, those crazy kids
Had a baby of their own and you heard what they did
In the middle of a strip mall shots rang out
Shots heard all over the world no doubt
'Cause it was there in the paper the very next day
'Bout a couple and a baby and a Chevrolet
Who shot up an automatic teller machine
Took the money for the laundry and drove away clean .....
song by John Hyatt
- metrohumanx, 2008-10-16: 06:00:00
that's a lot of typing - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-16: 15:57:00
No typing involved. - metrohumanx, 2008-10-17: 06:19:00
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Demeanoreader
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: Dee-meen-eh-reed-er
Sentence: Seeing that he seemed to know what they were thinking even before they did, others were astounded at the unerring accuracy of Harlan's demeanoreader skills.
Etymology: Demeanor + reader
Espivisage
Created by: purpleartichokes
Pronunciation: ESS-pee-vih-sahzh
Sentence: Sue used ESPivisage to successfully conclude that Bob wanted a burger and fries for lunch, and not the leftover tofurkey sandwich she suggested.
Etymology: ESP, visage, espionage
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COMMENTS:
Nice blend with good use of ESP! - OZZIEBOB, 2007-11-19: 16:16:00
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Paraface
Created by: LotusB
Pronunciation: Pear-a-face
Sentence: To paraface her true reaction, Juan ignored Carla's fake smile and searched within her eyes. She was not as happy as she tried to seem.
Etymology: Paraphrase (interpret) + Face (the face) = Paraface
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COMMENTS:
I like it! - lumina, 2008-10-19: 11:41:00
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Clairavoidance
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: clair-a-voi-dance
Sentence: When Tom saw "that look" on Clair's face he used his powers of clairavoidance to disappear before she had a chance to make him do chores.
Etymology: clairvoyance: the power to perceive objects or events without use of the senses + avoidance: defense mechanism consisting of refusal to encounter unpleasant situations, objects or people
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by aigle101. Thank you aigle101! ~ James
If you are interested in learning more about face reading and micro-expressions, check out The Naked Face. It's an article written by Malcolm Gladwell which originally appeared New Yorker magazine. ~ James
metrohumanx - 2008-10-16: 06:24:00
Clairvoyant wins lottery for second time!
Nobody ever really wants the fruit salad.:-)
Today's definition was suggested by aigle101. Thank you aigle101. ~ James