Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To unconsciously adopt the vocal mannerisms and linguistic stylings of the people with whom you are speaking. n. A speaker who adopts the vocal mannerisms of their audience.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
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Verbmitate
Created by: juliar
Pronunciation:
Sentence: The skinny white boy verbmitated the gangsters and got shot.
Etymology: comes from "verbal", meaning word, and mitate, as in "imitate".
Talkonalog
Created by: mana1066
Pronunciation: talk-on-a-log
Sentence: When hanging around Tyrone, Winston used his black talkonalog.
Etymology: talk + take on + dialog
Copychat
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: kop-ee-chat
Sentence: I don't want to say that Tom is feeble-minded but whenever he talks to anybody for more than a few minutes he ends up sounding just like them. This can be embarrassing when he talks to someone with a distinctive voice who thinks they are being mocked. Last week a woman with a pronounced stutter slapped him.
Etymology: copycat (a person or thing that copies, imitates, mimics, or follows the lead of another) + chat (to converse in a familiar or informal manner)
Langslide
Created by: purpleartichokes
Pronunciation: lang-slide
Sentence: After interviewing the president, Bob recapped the discussion, and langslided when he talked about North Korea's "nucular" capabilities.
Etymology: language, slide
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COMMENTS:
excellent one! - toadstool57, 2007-03-20: 08:19:00
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Slangadapt
Created by: jonobo
Pronunciation: slangadapt
Sentence: I slangadapted faster than expected, my speech-center got infected, no matter how hard i tried to reject it, so i just neglect it.
Etymology: to adapt the surrounding slang. slang + adapt. simple.
Linguistricks
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: ling-gwist-tricks
Sentence: Professor Jones was skilled at linguistricks; however he clearly had been spending too much time with his students when he was heard in the faculty room saying, "Dude...I was like...and she was like...and then we like.....ya, know?"
Etymology: linguistics: the study of the nature, structure and variation of languages; + tricks: particular trait or mannerism; special skill or knack
Imitalk
Created by: Discoveria
Pronunciation: Imm-me-tork
Sentence: The police officer did not take kindly to Simple Simon imitalking. It wasn't his fault that he had such a thick accent, was it guv'nor?
Etymology: Imitate + talk.
Accentefugue
Created by: Alchemist
Pronunciation: ak-SENT-eh-fyoog
Sentence: Whenever Josh is around Brits, he turns into a helpless accentefugue, peppering his sentences with "luv" "guv" and "quid". Strange, as he has lived his whole life in Brooklyn.
Etymology: accent (pronunciation common to a certain group of people) + fugue (A pathological amnesiac condition during which one is apparently conscious of one's actions but has no recollection of them), with a nod towards accent aigue
Memic
Created by: Buzzardbilly
Pronunciation: ˈmē-mik
Sentence: (n) He was a memic; he easily slid from one manner of speech to another and bonding with each type as individuals by sharing their langauge style without really thinking about it. (BTW, the actual term used for this in communication studies is "vocal matching") (v) His memicked as if he had to talk the same way anyone he spoke with did, but it was endearing as it wasn't a conscious decision on his part.
Etymology: mimic - to attempt to sound like another; emic - cultural study by participating in the culture; and, meme - cultural information (ideas, beliefs, and practices [which I believe would include one's way of speaking]) that spread from person to person much in the way genes spread biological information from person to person.
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COMMENTS:
Memic Mia, good word. - Nosila, 2009-10-06: 18:09:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by Osomatic.
Thank you Osomatic! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by Osomatic. Thank you Osomatic. ~ James