Verboticisms

Created by: cathedral1

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Created by: doseydotes

Pronunciation: ˈhaŋ-ˈzī-ə-tē

Sentence: Mildred tried to fight it, she really did, but she found herself sweaty with hangxiety every time she passed Ralph, Woolworth's security guard. It had been 55 years since she'd filched that tube of lipstick - she'd been too scared to ever use it, and she ended up throwing it in a drainage ditch - but she was certain that all Ralph had to do was look at her closely enough and he'd KNOW.

Etymology: From the British root, hang, meaning to stand about waiting for the trouble to start so one can get in on it early; and the Finnish (the Fins are such good finishers), xiety, meaning a group that collectively ducks its head in a guilty manner.

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COMMENTS:

Interesting etymology! When I think of hanging ... I think gallows! Your word is frighteningly good! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 15:45:00

One way to generate true hangziety would be to ask a cop "How's it haning?" - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 15:47:00

Such a clever pun ... and incorporating hang with all it's meanings was absolutely brilliant! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 15:48:00

Comprehensive and learned etymology. Saturday night's alright for fighting.... - stache, 2008-03-20: 16:53:00

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Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: kop shee en shuss

Sentence: When Zelda looked in her rear view mirror, that old feeling of being copscientious swept over her when she saw the patrol car behind her with two of the city's finest inside. A drop of sweat started on her brow and the perspiration started flowing. No wonder they called cops The Heat, she thought. She continued driving down the street, hoping they would get called away soon. She was meticulous in her driving procedures, for all her anxiety. Would they pull me over for some minor infraction? Had she forgotten some teensy traffic law? Her hands grew clammy and she prayed that she could get through the next light and leave them behind. Of course, no such luck today. She continued driving and trying to suppress that panicky feeling, hoping that her nervousness would not translate into a foolish mistake. She tried to remember where she had her pink slip and registration papers...her purse or her glove compartment? Letting her eyes stray back to the rear view mirror, she was horrified to see that they had moved up closer behind her. Now, she thought, I'll make a right turn (legally, of course) and try to lose them. To her horror, they signalled to turn right as well. Now she was beyond being copscientious, she was spiralling into panic mode. In the next moment, she felt relief sweep over her, as the patrol car turned into a driveway. She drove on away as the police pulled up to the donut shop. Thank goodness they had never stopped her. It would have been hard to explain away her husband's lifeless body in the trunk!!

Etymology: cops (bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you??) & Conscientious (characterized by extreme care and great effort )

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COMMENTS:

terrific story - Jabberwocky, 2008-03-20: 11:10:00

Agreed, great story — gave me chills. - Tigger, 2008-03-20: 11:46:00

Terrorific sentence and word! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 15:22:00

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Created by: Tigger

Pronunciation: /kop-kar-muh/

Sentence: Driving on an unfamiliar and secluded highway, on his way to college, Javier noticed a police car suddenly pull out behind him. He started to get nervous and slowed down. Had he even been speeding? Was he now going too slow, arousing further suspicion?... Were the cops here overly suspicious of young Hispanic men driving through their area in a new car? Had he done anything wrong? He'd changed lanes a few miles back, but he didn't remember signalling the lane change — there had been no other cars in sight to signal to. Perhaps there had been a police car hidden back there and he'd simply radioed to his partner up the road. How many of them were there, closing in on his position right now? Or did this have something to do with the beer Javier had drank at his going-away party two nights ago? He wasn't of legal driking age yet. It must be copkarma — all of his recent minor trangressions catching up with him.

Etymology: Cop car - Informal; automobile used by police officers (abbreviation of 'copper' & Latin, carrus "chariot") + Karma - Hinduism/Buddhism; action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad (from Sandskrit, karman "action, fate")

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COMMENTS:

Very Resourcefull! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 16:22:00

I like it! - purpleartichokes, 2008-03-20: 17:06:00

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Created by: jajsr

Pronunciation: Cop-eh-day-shun

Sentence: Joann, running late to work sped to her favorite coffee shop, as she could not function without her coffee. At the coffee shop, Joann couldn't help to feel the sense of copidation as the coffee shop was teeming with police officers.

Etymology: Combination to "Cop" - slang for police officer and "Trepidation" - timorous uncertain agitation.

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COMMENTS:

Great combo! - metrohumanx, 2009-01-12: 17:55:00

Good one! - Mustang, 2009-01-12: 23:11:00

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Created by: stache

Pronunciation: ə-frād'där

Sentence: "There he goes again. That's the third time the park ranger has circled past us. He must know we failed to properly quench the campfire last night," Julie said. "Relax. it's just your afraidar," Jim replied.

Etymology: afraid/radar

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COMMENTS:

The child in me loves the word afraider ... it's a crackerjack creation! Excellent! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 15:29:00

Good one, stache...just cause you're paranoid does not mean that someone isn't following you... - Nosila, 2008-03-20: 22:34:00

Oh, this is an excellent word. Perfect! - Tigger, 2008-03-20: 22:53:00

Fantastic word. Most X-dar words (including mine) seem to imply that the detection is actually _effective_. I like that this one goes the other way. - ErWenn, 2008-03-21: 01:55:00

Good word! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-22: 03:41:00

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Created by: readerwriter

Pronunciation: Fuhz-ih-foh-bee-ah

Sentence: When Gretel was three (or was it five?) years old, she had slipped from the kitchen chair when she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "My parental units did not handle the discipline well," she told Dr. Hippolatta Thalamus, her therapist. "I think I've tranferred my repressed anger to the police and anyone in authority, even my beloved Facebook. I think they're going to remove my profile picture for breastfeeding and I haven't even had a baby." "I have been familiar with this type of paranoia since the mid- 1960's," the aging doctor told her, "In the field, different spellings were tried: phuzziphobia...fuzzaphobia...phuzzafobia...but, by the early 1970's fuzzifobia was generally accepted and even made it onto a Peter Max Pop Art poster."

Etymology: From FUZZ a street term for police + PHOBIA, from the Greek for fear

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COMMENTS:

awesome!!! five-ohphobia - elcanyonazo, 2009-02-07: 15:46:00

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Created by: yelloweyes

Pronunciation: pawl-ih-preh-hen-siv-it-ee

Sentence: Shelly has a severe case of poliprehensivity! Every time she sees a cop car, she flinches and hisses like a scared ferret. I think she poliprehensives so often because her dad went to jail when she was a kid.

Etymology: Poli - from police; prehensivity - from apprehensive (anxious/fearful something bad will happen).

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Created by: Biscotti

Pronunciation: kop-oh-fo-bee-uh

Sentence: Alex was suffering severe copophobia when he was followed across state lines by a SWAT van. He thought they were following him because he tossed out a beer bottle earlier. Eventually he was pulled over and ony cited for littering.

Etymology: cop (slang for a police officer) + phobia (fear of something)

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COMMENTS:

A SWAT van needed to chase a litter? Why only cited for drinking? Your sentence left me hanging! Please finish me off? Maybe I'm just copophobic ... scared too senseless ... to figure it out! Very meaning full word! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-20: 16:56:00

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Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: pe tri fuzz d

Sentence: The patrol car at a cafe, or stopping someone on a highway, chills us and fills us, with anxieties. We avoid them, like they were a dread disease. Even doing nothing wrong, it doesn't take very long, if around us, the cops buzzed, we go stone cold ... I call it petrifuzzed!

Etymology: PETRIFIED, FUZZ. PETRIFIED - so uneasy you turn stone cold. FUZZ - slang term for any type of police.

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COMMENTS:

great word - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-12: 12:06:00

Very sobering thought. - metrohumanx, 2009-01-12: 17:53:00

good word - mweinmann, 2009-01-13: 08:30:00

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