Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. A person who constantly corrects other people's grammar. v. To habitually correct the grammar of everyone with whom you speak regardless of the social context or the minuteness the perceived error.
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.
Thegoodgrammaritan
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: the/good/gram/air/i/tan
Sentence: Thegoodgrammaritan is a selfless individual who will stop to correct bad grammar no matter what the consequences to himself might be.
Etymology: good + grammar + the good samartitan
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COMMENTS:
Nice word. Montaigne said: " The basis of most of the world's troubles are matters of grammar" - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 17:07:00
Clever entry! - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 23:17:00
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Complainisitionist
Created by: jajsr
Pronunciation: Come-plane-i-z-i-shun-ist
Sentence: Delores was quite the complainisitionist. When her husband came down for breakfast and asked, "Is that grits I smell", she quickly replied, "you mean, ARE those grits I smell".
Etymology: Combination of "Complain" - to express grief, pain or discomfort; and "sition" from composition - an intellectual creation
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COMMENTS:
I'll bet he smelled them when the plate impacted his face. - metrohumanx, 2009-01-21: 15:39:00
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Gramstapo
Created by: arrrteest
Pronunciation: Gram-stop-oh
Sentence: Maude was a good wife. She tollerated and suffered throught many of her pet peeves about Larry, but the one she couldn't pass up was his poor language. He constantly spewed out mixed tenses as often as he mixed metaphors, and noun-verb agreement would always get lost somewhere in a sentence. Larry paid as much attention to what he said as much as she how much she corrected him. He just laughed it off as he called her his little "Gramstapo."
Etymology: Gram -from grammar + gestap - the Nazi secret police
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COMMENTS:
gestapo, that is. (Consider this a preemptive correction for the missing "o" to avoid any wannabe gramstapos out there from pouncing on me. lol - arrrteest, 2008-03-26: 12:42:00
Or, would it be called "gramstapoes?" - arrrteest, 2008-03-26: 12:42:00
or "gramstopi?" - stache, 2008-03-26: 12:55:00
Larry should not forget, "We ask the questions!" - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 17:34:00
Ja, gutes wort (yes, good word). Did you realize that you can 'Edit' your entry arrrteest? - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 22:54:00
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Linguistickler
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /ling-gwi-STIK-ler/
Sentence: Sarah's customer, Mr. Vern Acular stopped by her office to tell her that the business proposal she'd sent him to review was "written very good," and that he was hoping to award her company the contract for his account. "Well," she said, after a cringe and a long pause. After another long pause Vern asked, "Well what?" confused by her pained expression and stiff body language. She couldn't hold it in any longer — Sarah was an obsessive linguistickler, and all her careful writing was wasted on this ignorant buffoon. "It was written very WELL!" she said. "You said it was written very GOOD' but you should've said WELL instead of GOOD," she explained. Vern thought about that for a few moments and then said, "Alright then, I thought the writing was very WELL."
Etymology: Linguistic - consisting of or related to language (from Latin, lingua "language, tongue") + Stickler - a person who insists on something unyieldingly (from Old English, stihan "to arrange order")
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COMMENTS:
Love your story, Tigger, especially since I have dealt with guys like him myself...you really don't have to make this stuff up, do you? - Nosila, 2008-03-26: 02:00:00
It took me a minute to get the Vern Acular ref. heehee :) Hilarious he came back and said the writing was well. I hope he did that on purpose out of spite! - diyan627, 2008-03-26: 02:32:00
Wonderful word. I tend to suspect the percentage of linguisticklers among verbotomists is higher than that in the general population. - stache, 2008-03-26: 11:26:00
I tend to think of verbotomists as being lingui-ticklers - Jabberwocky, 2008-03-26: 11:47:00
Ahhhhh, I posted a similar word w/out seeing yours first. Your sentence, however, is much better than mine. You've got my vote. - werdnurd, 2008-03-26: 15:17:00
Love yore sentence and word! Someone said, "A grammarian is one who thinks it is more important to write correctly than to write well". - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 17:16:00
So true, Bob and stache. I bet everyone here has their pet-peeves about bad grammar though, things that just make you cringe. - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 21:43:00
I love "lingui-ticklers" too, Jabberwocky. That's an excellent verbotomy for 'verbotomists'. - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 21:46:00
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Grammaticizer
Created by: garythesnail
Pronunciation: Gru-mat-ih-SIE-zur
Sentence:
Etymology:
Gramopoop
Created by: kashman
Pronunciation: gram-o-poop
Sentence: Alicia's act of gramopooping every sentence spoken by her mismatched boyfriend Billy Bob was fully justified in her heard; she had a Master's degree in English Language, while poor Billy Bob never even completed his high school education. Even though Alicia was the biggest ever gramopoop Billy has come across, he knew that's the highest level of intellectual dating chain he will ever get, so he kept hoping for Alicia's "gramonstipation".
Etymology: Grammar + Poop (slang for a person regarded as spoiler/fun destroyer).
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COMMENTS:
"Gramonstipation"! Oh, that takes the cake! No pun intended. - diyan627, 2008-03-26: 03:45:00
It seems that Billy Bob knew all about the "dative case" - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 17:54:00
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Conversatianal
Created by: Northwoodsman
Pronunciation: kŏn'vər-sā'shā'nəl
Sentence: She is so conversatianal that a small chat turns into an English lesson.
Etymology: conversation + anal-retentive
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COMMENTS:
kinda hard to say, but it hits the mark, I must say. - stache, 2008-03-26: 14:03:00
funny word - Jabberwocky, 2008-03-26: 16:04:00
"Teaching is the fine art of imparting knowledge without possessing it. " Nice word. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 18:00:00
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Wrecktify
Created by: silveryaspen
Pronunciation: Rek ti fy
Sentence: Killsay was excellent at morphemes and constituents. He was born a Grammar. Killsay was very in tense, and always in the accusative. He was overly generous in sharing his grammar. Killsay would restruckture the speecch of any one. No was was safe from his guydance (guidance) ... shuffling his feet, waving his finger, tweaking your verbose, nitpicking through one's words ... he would wrectify everything said.
Etymology: RECTIFY, WRECK. RECTIFY - correct, amend, revise. WRECK - to damage and destroy with too much revision. --- (Morphemes are basic word-building units. Constituents are sentence-building units. They are true grammatical words, not verbotomies.) Killsay Grammar is a pun on actor Kelsey Grammer, star of the tv show Frasier.
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COMMENTS:
Bet she had a bad rectutation.... - Mustang, 2009-01-16: 04:17:00
After she irritates enough people, she might turn a wreckluse. - mweinmann, 2009-01-16: 08:12:00
Thank you for the clever comments. But Killsay is a he ... not a she! Men are guilty of doing this, too! - silveryaspen, 2009-01-16: 10:03:00
nice - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-16: 16:16:00
Killsay Grammar...love it! - Nosila, 2009-01-16: 20:43:00
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Grammamend
Created by: diyan627
Pronunciation: gram-a-mend
Sentence: Rohit was a grammamend I couldn't date, much less tolerate in any setting. So what? -I meant "couldn't bear it" rather than "couldn't bare it". He corrected me in the instant messenger, and my replying with "Ahh" was not good enough. He went on to say that he can't stand people who can't handle criticism, and he thinks I'm petty. He wouldn't move on until I cyber-bowed down before him and thanked him for putting me on the right path. Quite bizarre. At first I didn't mind the correction at all..It didn't even phase me.. It was his insistence for recognition of his brilliance that was the clincher! And he actually thought I'd go out with him for a first-meet after that.
Etymology: grammar + amend
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COMMENTS:
Sounds like a true story. [By the way, you mixed verb tenses in one of your sentences. — Yours Truly, Rohit] Just kidding, diyan. - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 23:10:00
Don't worry. I'm not your [hopefully fictional] linguistalker. - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 23:15:00
Tigger, "linguistalker" is correct! The linguadventure is a true tale. hahaha... And he did keep calling me and IMing me after that one, but I linguiblocked him. - diyan627, 2008-03-27: 11:48:00
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Gramudgeon
Created by: werdnurd
Pronunciation: gra-mud-jun (n)
Sentence: Feeling slighted by the improper use of the word good, the gramudgeon could not help but interject: "You mean well."
Etymology: grammar - the way the sentences of a language are constructed; morphology and syntax. curmudgeon - a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.
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COMMENTS:
Very good blend! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-26: 17:50:00
Hey, your 'Gramudgeon' should hook up with my 'Linguistickler'. - Tigger, 2008-03-26: 22:32:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by stache. Thank you stache. ~ James
stache - 2008-03-26: 09:16:00
You're welcome, JG. Very worthy submissions today
doseydotes - 2008-03-26: 09:22:00
I'm afraid stache's definition is in reference to yours truly. I looked at the suggested words and I'm floored. I might as well give up right now. Great job, everybody.
doseydotes - 2008-03-26: 10:53:00
And I gotta add, "Man, you loving bestest ever!" to my repertoire.
stache - 2008-03-26: 11:47:00
That'd be hoovy of you, 'dotes.
Yes, there are lots of gramudgeons and linguweenies here. Apparently, they're the bestest! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by stache. Thank you stache. ~ James
KatrinaNhor - 2018-06-02: 07:46:00
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