Vote for the best verboticism.

'What was I looking for?'

DEFINITION: n. A condition where you get so distracted by the fact that you can't find something, that you forget what you were looking for. v. To forget what you are looking for while you are looking for it.

Create | Read

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.

Helterseeker

Created by: toadstool57

Pronunciation: hell-tor-sEk-or

Sentence: Jill's search for her keys turned into a helterseeker. She forgot that she is seeking her keys when she stumbled onto a shoe she lost 2 months ago.

Etymology: helter skelter/seek

| Comments and Points

Outoflocus

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: out-o-FLOW-cus

Sentence: Conor was so outoflocus that he spent all day retracing his steps trying to remind himself of what he was looking for.

Etymology: out of focus (not focussed) + locus (location)

| Comments and Points

Absentfindedness

Created by: splendiction

Pronunciation: AB sent find ed NESS

Sentence: Able tore around the apartment, digging through gobs of stuff to find many things he forgot he had. Unfortunately, his absentfindedness prevented him from actually remembering what he was looking for. Perhaps Able found it after all that finding!

Etymology: I forgot... (Uh, a twist together of absentmindedness and find).

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Good word...amazing how many people are afflicted with this disease...not me, at least I don't remember having it! - Nosila, 2009-10-01: 20:19:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Tweekpeek

Created by: Sed8ed

Pronunciation: tw'eek p'eek

Sentence: So irritated at his inability to locate his wallet, John found himself throwing things about the room while tweekpeeking under everything.

Etymology:

| Comments and Points

Brainmoshed

Created by: jonobo

Pronunciation: brainmoshed

Sentence: He was so brainmoshed, that he didn't realise the keys in his own hands - and if he would, he would have just put them aside an forgot about them...

Etymology: brain + mosh

| Comments and Points

Alzhunter

mrskellyscl

Created by: mrskellyscl

Pronunciation: allz-hun-ter

Sentence: Carl was certain that he had early onset of Alzhunter's Disease when he began to forget what it was that he was looking for in the first place; however, while he was hunting it, he found what he was looking for yesterday -- except he couldn't remember why he was looking for it.

Etymology: Alzheimer's Disease: dimentia often beginning with short-term memory loss + hunter: one who searches or seeks for something

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

artr I often find things by looking for something else. - artr, 2009-10-01: 11:06:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Itemnesia

Created by: Alchemist

Pronunciation: eye-tem-NEES-yah

Sentence: After 20 minutes of frantically searching through her Prius, Sharon paused, stricken with itemnesia. Now WHAT was she looking for?

Etymology: item + amnesia

| Comments and Points

Flashblank

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: FLASH-blanc

Sentence: As has been happening all too often lately Delbert's mind was wandering while he was looking for his car keys and he had another flashblank, his mind going totally devoid of thought and leaving him completely unable to concentrate.

Etymology: Blend of 'flash' and 'blank'....play on the word flashback

| Comments and Points

Seeknesia

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: sēknēzhə

Sentence: Al suffers from seeknesia. Not only does he have trouble finding things, he often forgets what he was looking for in the first place. The results of these slips can sometimes be a bit shocking like the time he went out to shovel his sidewalk and realized that what he had been looking for before seeknesia struck was twofold, his snow shovel and his pants.

Etymology: seek (attempt to find something) + amnesia (a partial or total loss of memory)

| Comments and Points

Whichhunt

Created by: rikboyee

Pronunciation: which-hunt

Sentence: as he aimlessly entered the kitchen again, he realised he needed to give up this whichhunt.

Etymology: which, hunt, witch hunt

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

excellost! - galwaywegian, 2007-03-15: 06:03:00

This could be rendered as a verb, nice. - mplsbohemian, 2007-03-15: 19:27:00

this works also because, as in a witchhunt, one is actually unlikely to find something when they forget to look for it or won't notice it when they see it - ekath, 2007-03-22: 22:37:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...

 

Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-03-15: 00:12:18
Today's definition was suggested by mana1066.
Thank you mana1066! ~ James

erasmus erasmus - 2007-03-15: 12:25:00
I do believe in the UK the DJ on Radio 2 called Terry Wogan calls this a senior moment but thats two words.

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-03-15: 20:02:00
Funny thing is that it's been happening to me since I was a kid... Do think it's going to get worse as I get older?

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-10-01: 00:12:00
Today's definition was suggested by mana1066. Thank you mana1066. ~ James