Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. A punishment which does not fit crime. v. To assign a punishment which is bizarrely inappropriate, and seems totally unrelated to the crime which has been committed.
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.
Sissyfine
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: siss eeeeeeeee feye nnnnh
Sentence: He walked into judge Draco's courtroom with the sinking feeling that a sissyfine decision was on its way.
Etymology: fine, Sisyphean challenge" "wikipedia" As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down again, forcing him to begin again.[2] The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for Sisyphus due to his hubristic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus.
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COMMENTS:
oooh!! very cerebral today - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-06: 09:38:00
Wow! Sissyfine was just fine as a simple combine of sissy and fine and a great create. Then I read the etymology, enjoyed the Greek myth new to me. Not quite an eponym for you spelled it differently from the Greek, but that just made it better. Double meanings are not easily created. Absolutely Brilliant! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-06: 19:30:00
Very clever! - kateinkorea, 2009-03-08: 10:20:00
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Funishment
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: fənishmənt
Sentence: When the starlet got caught for the fifth time her funishment was very severe. She was sentenced to 30 days in frizzon — that’s right, she was locked up in a place that didn’t have proper hair products. She could do nothing but throw on a scarf, dark sunglasses and steer clear of places where paparazzi might catch a glimpse.
Etymology: fun (enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure) + punishment (the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense)
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COMMENTS:
was just about to write that down :) - galwaywegian, 2010-09-17: 08:16:00
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Aproposterous
Created by: Filthy
Pronunciation:
Sentence:
Etymology: Aproposterous is a combination of the words apropos and preposterous. The term has largely replaced it's cousin, moronic justice, since it better captures both the disproportional and inappropriate natures of a crime's consequence.
Penrong
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: pen rong
Sentence: When the judge gave the sentence of 30 days in a luxury penthouse jail to the CEO of the biggest con job of the century, the defence lawyer filed an appeal called a penrong. Afterall, it was a victimless crime, no blood was spilled and such a sentence was cruel and unusual punishment for a mere bookkeeping error. Forcibly placing his client in such a primitive environment constituted a penal implant, which undermined his client's basic human rights and dignity.
Etymology: Pen (short for penitentiary or jail) & Enron (Billion dollar fraud scandal)& Wrong (incorrect)
Inmaterial
Created by: mweinmann
Pronunciation: in - mate - tear - e - all
Sentence: After Barney jaywalked near the general store, Andy meted out a sentence that was inmaterial to the crime. He threw Barney in the slammer for three days....Barney got to see what it was like being an inmate, except that Aunt Bea brought him supper every evening.
Etymology: Inmate + Imaterial >> Inmate (convict: a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison) Imaterial (extraneous: not pertinent to the matter under consideration)
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COMMENTS:
love the Mayberry reference - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-06: 09:39:00
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Payadox
Created by: silveryaspen
Pronunciation: pay a dox
Sentence: Today's legal system is broken, for the punishments do not fit white-collar crimes. Madoff runs a Ponzi scheme and instead of being in jail, he is in his million dollar penthouse. Even more absurd, he is not made to pay any restitution, he gets to keep the billions he stole! Ditto, for the criminal mismanagement of bank assets by bank management. In their case, it gets even more perverse, for they are given bail-em-out -billions, and are free to do it again! There are politicians who do not pay their taxes. Instead of jail time, the president perversely appoints them to high political office with good pay and big benefits. The payadox of today is white-collar crime does pay, and pays big!
Etymology: It is a paradox when the punishment doesn't fit the white-collar crime ... and when that white collar crime pays off big-time, it is a payadox! (In the fictionary {fiction-dictionary} a dox is the new human animal: a white-collar fox in sheep's clothing seeking out hi$ prey.)
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COMMENTS:
so true and so sad - Jabberwocky, 2009-03-06: 09:40:00
Good story...just sorry it is fact not fiction! - Nosila, 2009-03-06: 19:04:00
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Punytivedamages
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: pewnee/tiv/dam/aj/es
Sentence: Punytivedamages amounting to a cutback of .025% of the Bank President's bonus for the year seemed unfair to the dispossessed living under the bridge who had been sold useless investments by his bank.
Etymology: puny (feeble, undersized) + punitve damages
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COMMENTS:
It makes you lose interest in banks! - Nosila, 2009-03-06: 18:44:00
Master of the one letter change to form a perfect verbotomy! Brilliant! - silveryaspen, 2009-03-06: 19:11:00
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Felonelevate
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: fel-ehn-ELL-eh-vayt
Sentence: The jury was certain the judge had come completely unhinged when he decided to felonelevate the punishment of Elmer and sentenced him to a year in jail for littering.
Etymology: Blend of felon and elevate.
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James