Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. A prop (e.g. papers, files or any non-functional equipment) used to create the illusion of busyness. v. To use office supplies to create the illusion that you are working.
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.
Shamoflauge
Created by: LunaC
Pronunciation: sham-o-flaw-ge
Sentence: The new employee furiously types an email to his friend as shamoflauge in case his boss walks by.
Etymology: sham + camoflauge
Propccupied
Created by: ziggy41
Pronunciation: Prop-kyu-pide
Sentence: To avoid obtaining any more work from her boss that day, she used her clever wit to propccupy herself with a dead beatle and a piece of bagel.
Etymology: Prop (an object) + occupied (busy)
Documentality
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: dok u men tal it ee
Sentence: Pierre's ruse was to use his documentality to elude real work. He would carry any official-looking folder or paper to make it look like he was on his way to a very important meeting. In fact, he remembered the trick his English classes used about the different words "stationary & stationery". The "ar" one stood for At Rest, as in stationary machinery and the other "er" one stood for the last 2 letters in paper...or in his case "Eternally Roving".
Etymology: Document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature); anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks) & Mentality (a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations; mental ability)
Maloprop
Created by: readerwriter
Pronunciation: mal-o-prop
Sentence: Eric is so retro, Petra thought. Everytime she saw him cross the office floor on his way from the men's room to his desk, she had to laugh. Oh yeah, he just had to carry those maloprops to show everyone he knew what it was like in the 20th century. It was ludicrous. And, then if you said something, he had such excuses...like he didn't understand there were better ways of doing things.
Etymology: From mal, Latin/Romance languages, for bad or sick + prop for a property used for show. Also a play on the word malapropism, the ludicrous misuse of a word. In this case, the ludicrous misuse of a prop.
Disworkillusionment
Created by: keeno82uk
Pronunciation: dis-work-illusion-ment
Sentence: "that guy is so practicing disworkillusionment, as he always carries around that file"
Etymology: Meaning the illusion of work by cloaking your lack of said work using props, i.e folder, laptop
Bossacoy
Created by: abrakadeborah
Pronunciation: boss-a-coy
Sentence: In order for Bob to fool his boss...he would often walk around with his trusty bossacoy to look busy.
Etymology: Boss-Manager. Part of "Decoy" - Someone or something used to draw attention away from another.
Phantofiles
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: fan/tuh/files
Sentence: John had six different coloured sets of phantofiles he alternated at various times of the day to keep 'The Man' off his case and to demonstrate his industriousness and multitasking abilities. "Damn, he's good!" thought his boss. "He's completed three different projects today and it's only noon." John's phantofiles put him in line for a raise.
Etymology: phantom + files
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COMMENTS:
hmm - good ploy - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-13: 10:53:00
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Slackcessory
Created by: purpleartichokes
Pronunciation: slak-sess-or-ee
Sentence: Phil's slackcessory wasn't fooling anyone. The "tech manual" he was toting around was the instruction booklet for his lawn mower. Apparently, he was Fridazed when he took that course on shirkonomics.
Etymology: slack (to avoid work), accessory
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COMMENTS:
I thought a slackcessory was a new belt. - galwaywegian, 2007-06-13: 07:01:00
great one purple! - toadstool57, 2007-06-13: 07:07:00
Bravo! - Clayton, 2007-06-13: 07:42:00
very good!! - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-13: 09:27:00
Galway - a belt would be a britch-hiker. And I'm quite pleased that I finally made a word that I actually like! - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-13: 10:33:00
actually purple I think a britch-hiker is a brilliant word for suspenders - how about a belt being a gutwrencher - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-13: 10:57:00
That's good! Wish one came with the squishsuit I bought this year. - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-13: 11:21:00
"Slackcessory" is indeed a good word, though it sounds like it would apply equally to a device for enhancing the slacking experience (such as a Gameboy) as it would to a device for hiding the slacking experience. - ErWenn, 2007-06-13: 14:13:00
And "britch-hiker" is simply awesome. I think it's a generic term for anything that pulls your pants up, such as a belt, a pair of suspenders, or a wedgie-giver. - ErWenn, 2007-06-13: 14:14:00
the best - pguse, 2007-06-13: 14:55:00
Yep. Wished I thought of that. - texmom, 2007-06-13: 20:41:00
ErWenn makes a good point, but I think that words such as these might offer more utility than their highly specified synonyms. This one might have eight different sense of meaning. Perhaps more in America. - Clayton, 2007-06-13: 20:41:00
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Evidiligence
Created by: ErWenn
Pronunciation: /ˌɛvəˈdɪlədʒɛns/
Sentence: While folders and papers make excellent passive evidiligence for someone on the move, a mobile phone or PDA can serve the same purpose even when seated at one's desk, though such tools require an active effort to complete the effect of slackofflage.
Etymology: From evidence + diligence
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COMMENTS:
very on-message you evidiligently gave it a lot of thought. - galwaywegian, 2007-06-13: 07:03:00
Don't indilige him. - Clayton, 2007-06-13: 07:50:00
Actually, I didn't give it that much thought. I just borrowed some thoughts I'd had from when I created the previous verboticism "slackofflage." I've noticed that some of my highest-scoring words are ones I was least confident in (such as "mockliment.") Maybe there's a message there. Maybe I just give everything too much thought. Yeah, that seems more likely. - ErWenn, 2007-06-13: 14:02:00
now now ErWenn - you know what they say about making ASSumptions - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-13: 14:20:00
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Pendupe
Created by: sanssouci
Pronunciation: pen doop
Sentence: "I think I am going to pendupe for a while, I can't be botherd to do anymore work today but don't want Mr Stone to think I'm not pulling my weight in the office."
Etymology: pen - any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance. A pen is a writing implement," c.1300, from O.Fr. penne "quill pen, feather," dupe - to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick. Dupe orriginates from 1680s, from Fr. dupe "deceived person," from M.Fr. duppe (early 15c.), thieves' jargon, probably from phrase de huppe "of the hoopoe," an extravagantly crested and reputedly stupid bird.
Comments:
The "S" in Timothy Johnson's GUST stands for Strategy. And strategy is key! Especially if you are trying to get way with doing nothing. Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram and Timothy! ~ James
Rebekah - 2009-11-05: 18:33:00
Protaskinate
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James