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'Why are you putting that by the front door?'

DEFINITION: n., An ugly decorative item or article of clothing received from friends or relatives, which is kept stored away but ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice in anticipation of a return visit. v., To temporarily place an old, and perhaps unattractive gift in a place of honor.

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Hideopresent

Created by: jajsr

Pronunciation: Heh-dee-o-preh-zint

Sentence: Knowing that his in-laws were coming to visit for the holidays, Bill's wife made him wear the hideopresent of a sweater that her mom made him for Christmas last year.

Etymology: Combination of "Hideo" from hideous - offensive to the senses and especially to sight; and "Present" - to make a gift to.

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Whitelephantasmagoria

karenanne

Created by: karenanne

Pronunciation: whyt EL eh fan TAZ ma GOR ee ah

Sentence: Over the holidays, my house becomes a whitelephantasmagoria of sorts, as I rotate in and out the succession of useless and hideous items given to me over the years by various relatives. I have to keep a calendar of who is coming when, so that the correct one is on display on the correct day. God forbid I put out the horrid quilt made for my grandchildren by their grandmother, my EX-mother-in-law, when my CURRENT mother-in-law visits. She has an uncanny sense for such things.

Etymology: white elephant + phantasmagoria (a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined; a series or group of strange or bizarre images seen as if in a dream)

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COMMENTS:

Whitelephantasmagoria are kept in a special trunk...good word - Nosila, 2009-12-16: 22:15:00

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Zombift

Created by: grauntlet

Pronunciation: zam bIft

Sentence: His wife was beginning to serve tea to her mother when Duncan said: "where did you get this god-awful tea set? why dont you get the nice one?". His wife didn't have the time to warn him about the zombift.

Etymology: zombie + gift

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Prezzidigitate

Created by: OZZIEBOB

Pronunciation: PREZZ-ee-DIJ-ee-TATE

Sentence: Bob had just put away the kitschsake toaster-clock his mother had given him many years before, when he heard the news that his mother-in-law was on her way over to his place. Quickly, and in order not to offend her, he rummaged through an old trunk in his garage to find the indoor sundial she had given him as a birthday present. Fortunately for him, with good luck and a dash of good memory, he found it and prezzidigitated it, as a dragonsop, into a place of prominence and importance for her to see.

Etymology: Blend of PREZZI: (slang for present, gift.) & PRESTIDIGITATE: to be manually dexterios in the execution of tricks ; sleight of hand. KITSCHSAKE: Conflation of KITSCH(from German)meaning: gaudy, trashy objects or items and (OE) SAKE, as in "keepsake", meaning an item kept for the sake of the giver. DRAGONSOP: DRAGON-Slang term for mother-in-law or wife; SOP: Anything given (or done)to pacify; -- so called from the sop given to Cerberus, as related in mythology.

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COMMENTS:

Works like magic for me! - silveryaspen, 2008-12-16: 22:36:00

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Tackytic

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: tak eee tik

Sentence: They made a tackytical substitution over the fireplace in the living room. The singing fish replaced the Van Gogh for the duration of old uncle chuck's visit to town.

Etymology: tack tactic.

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Junkredux

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: juhnk-re-duks

Sentence: Nathan employed a sneaky program of junkredux wherein he would put trashy gifts on prominent display when the givers would visit, the ghastly dragon head lamp his mother had given him for Christmas being the most notable example.

Etymology: Blend of 'Junk'(n. something of poor quality : trash) and 'redux' (adj brought back —used postpositively)

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Artdecohno

Created by: galwaywegian

Pronunciation: art dek o no

Sentence: his mother had a huge collection of artdecohno on display, screaming aesthetic abuse from the mantlepiece,

Etymology: art deco, oh no

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Resurregalia

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: rez-ure-REG-ahl-ee-uh

Sentence: Babs and Jake always greeted the holidays with excitement and dread. With extended family coming to visit, these reunions often degenerated into verbal slug fests. Babs would prepare the mandatory dishes, and Jake's job was to break out the RESURREGALIA...those tacky gifts and mementoes which would have been endearing if they weren't SO ugly and tasteless. Jake was especially fond of Aunt Lydia's "Sceptre of Authority"- a self-contained toilet accesory with disturbingly phallic qualities which kept everyone laughing well into the wee hours. Bottoms up!

Etymology: RESURREct+reGALIA=RESURREGALIA.........RESURRECT:to bring to view, attention, or use again,to raise from the dead;back-formation from resurrection-1772......REGALIA:: the emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royalty,decorations or insignia,special dress or trappings;Medieval Latin, from Latin, neuter plural of regalis-1540

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COMMENTS:

Re(as)suringly regal resurrection complete with elegant use of Latin. Very nice! - dochanne, 2008-12-16: 03:00:00

Brings back so many memories. I like it. - Mustang, 2008-12-16: 21:00:00

Good word...been there done that! - Nosila, 2008-12-16: 22:16:00

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Regravermess

Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: regravermess: re - grave - her - mess

Sentence: Everytime my mother-in-law visited, I couldn't wait for her to leave so I could again hide away the last regravermess she gave me!

Etymology: regravermess: re for resurrect ... grav for resurrect from the grave ... er is short for her ... mess for mess

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Doodud

Created by: theCountess

Pronunciation: Doo-Dud

Sentence: Carol dreaded receiving and being obliged to display yet another ugly doodud from her mother-in-law.

Etymology: Doodad + Dud

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-12-12: 01:20:00
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie Thank you kabloozie ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-12-16: 00:08:00
Today's definition was suggested by kabloozie. Thank you kabloozie. ~ James