Vote for the best verboticism.

DEFINITION: v., To search for and find a pen to write down an important note, only to discover that the pen does not work. n., A moment in time when the only pens you can find, are pens that do not work.
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.
Inkoherent
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: ink oh hee rent
Sentence: the inkoherence meant he just had to scrape her number onto his arm.
Etymology: incoherent ink
Paperblankwriter
Created by: TJayzz
Pronunciation: Pay-per-blan-k-ry-ter
Sentence: When Steve's boss called to tell him the date and details of a very important meeting, he thought he had better make a note of it as his memory was not his best asset. He picked up the nearest pen but it had run out of ink so he tried again , only to realise that all the pens in the house were paperblankwriters that refused to work. He made a vow to himself that next time he would always buy his pens in bulk and discard them as soon as they were running out.
Etymology: Paper(material made from wood pulp used for writing on) + Blank(empty, plain, not marked) + Writer(a device that writes information) = Paperblankwriter
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
playing the Beatles card eh? clever - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-03: 09:46:00
Being British what else could I do? - TJayzz, 2008-10-03: 13:06:00
A Hard Day's Write?? - Nosila, 2008-10-03: 20:16:00
hard to beatle. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-10-05: 17:36:00
----------------------------
Thenotwritestuff
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: The not rite stuff
Sentence: When the first astronauts went up in space, they had thenotwritestuff for report writing, because the lack of gravity prevented the ink from flowing down the shaft and appearing on official NASA notepaper. This where the famous line, "Houston, we have a problem" was born. After the Astronaut Pen was invented, where you could write upside down or at any angle, proper records could be documented. This was long before any computers were available (except HAL) to enter data. Imagine then how many alien encounters were missed or not reported because the crews had thenotwritestuff! Have you any ink-ling? The biro-ny...they can get a man on the moon, but they cannot invent a pen that does not dry up!
Etymology: The Not (negative) Write Stuff (play on Right Stuff(Essential abilities or qualities;dependability,etc.necessary for success...also name for a Hollywood Movie about astronauts chosen for the space program)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Good sentence. Funny, cud have just splurged a buck for a dozen of pencils instead. - zxvasdf, 2008-10-03: 13:39:00
Then they would have had to get the lead out! Cheers! - Nosila, 2008-10-04: 23:08:00
----------------------------
Inkpediment
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: ink-PED'e-ment
Sentence: Unable to find a working pen, Barbara walked from room to room repeatedly chanting the phone number, while hoping to overcome her inkpediment.
Etymology: ink + impediment
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
or inkPENdiment, perhaps. - MrDave2176, 2007-11-06: 09:19:00
----------------------------
Peninsulate
Created by: QuantumMechanic
Pronunciation: pen en suh late
Sentence: I knew the answer, but I didn't couldn't call in to win, because I was peninsulated -- all of the pens I found were dead.
Etymology: pen (ink writing instrument) + insulate (isolate), parallel to peninsula (an isolated spit of land)
Pendaver
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: pen/daver
Sentence: It's another of Murphy's Laws that writing utensils turn into pendavers when an important message needs to be scribbled.
Etymology: PENDAVER noun - from PEN (instrument for writing) + CADAVER (a dead body)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
I bet Dexter has several pendavers - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-03: 09:47:00
Good word - OZZIEBOB, 2008-10-05: 17:35:00
----------------------------
Inklessdilemma
Created by: kellysue94
Pronunciation:
Sentence: i was having an inklessdilemma yesterday
Etymology:
Frupenstration
Created by: remistram
Pronunciation: fruh-pen-strey-shun
Sentence: By digging a small grave for all his old pens helped his frupenstration anxiety, but he did keep his favorite purple pen under his pillow - in case the pen fairy happened to come around.
Etymology: frustration + pen
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
has a great sound to it - would be very satisfying to mutter when searching for a pen - Jabberwocky, 2007-11-06: 14:03:00
thanks! I was going to go with fruspentration, but it sounded odd...! - remistram, 2007-11-06: 16:20:00
----------------------------
Bickenscratch
Created by: xirtam
Pronunciation: bic-en-skrach
Sentence: With the only pen I could find out of ink, I had to bickenscratch the phone number into the note pad so I could read the indentations later.
Etymology: bic: a brand of pen + Chicken Scratch: slang; poor or illegible writing. Scratch: To write or draw by scraping or cutting the lines into a surface.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
To be precise, this is the inevitable result of the event described, but I like it! 'He bickenscratched his way through the morning until he finally found a pen that worked.' - Tigger, 2007-11-06: 13:23:00
I like it too. Resembles my grocery list. - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-06: 20:01:00
----------------------------
Inkvain
Created by: petaj
Pronunciation: ink-vain
Sentence: It was all inkvain. Scrabbling through the bureau drawer in search of a writing implement while the gormless game-show host rabbited on about numbers to call had proven fruitless, and Sally was left despondent that she had not been able to write down the SMS number to win $5000 on Who wants to be a Millionaire.
Etymology: in vain (to no purpose) + ink (what the pens are missing)

Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by vixphilia. Thank you vixphilia! ~ James'
OZZIEBOB - 2007-11-06: 16:53:00
Good word!
Today's definition was suggested by vixphilia. Thank you vixphilia. ~ James
Petrikreink - 2020-03-03: 05:14:00