Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. A technological innovation that doesn't work as expected because "normal people" can't figure out how to use it. v. To improve something in a way that makes it much harder to use.
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.
Guytech
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: gītek
Sentence: Bryan\'s life is full of guytech devices. From his watch that keeps time in eight time zones, functions as a stop watch, alarm, gaming device and spy camera to his laptop computer or Crackberry, if it*s new and cool he has it. Does he know how any of it works? Not a clue! He likes to babble in jargon even when he makes no sense but, truth be known, he has a VCR sitting next to his 90-inch hi-def TV that has blinked 12:00 since the day he got it.
Etymology: guy (a man) + tech (technology) a play off of high-tech
Stymieware
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: stīmēwər
Sentence: Jerry is proud to own the latest, greatest smart phone. It is apparently smarter than him. Yesterday it automatically downloaded and installed the freshest stymieware. It is supposed to give him all kinds of new state-of-the-art capabilities. He is lucky to figure out how to make a phone call. He tried to text his brother but ended up in a video conference call with some guys in Denmark. It might have been interesting if he understood them.
Etymology: stymie (prevent or hinder the progress of) + software (the programs and other operating information used by a computer)
Unutilovelty
Created by: mana1066
Pronunciation: un-you-till-â-vul-tee
Sentence: When the people on tv used it, it seemed like it would change my life. when i got it in the mail it ended up being a unutilovelty that collected dust.
Etymology: un+ utilize + novelty
Dehancement
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: dee-hans-ment
Sentence: New & improved! Fear these words. Too often they announce the dehancement of a product from tried and true to unfathomable.
Etymology: degrade (to lower in dignity or estimation; bring into contempt) + enhancement (to raise to a higher degree; intensify; magnify)
Whatchamadowithit
Created by: ekath
Pronunciation: whachama-do-with-it
Sentence: Its kind of sad when my mom tries to figure out how to operate her whatchamadowithits. Usually I sigh and show her, for example, how to turn her cell phone on.
Etymology: from whatchamacallit and not-knowing-what-to-do-with-it
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COMMENTS:
Man, I spent almost an hour trying to think of something like this, but the best I could think of was "howjamauseit". I'm glad somebody was able to find a better solution than that. - ErWenn, 2007-03-22: 00:45:00
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Defeature
Created by: Discoveria
Pronunciation: Dee-fee-chur
Sentence: The car's inbuilt automatic window-unsteaming feature was nothing but a defeature, because the on/off button was almost under the driver's seat.
Etymology: Defeat + de- + feature. Defeature also happens to be an obsolete word for the noun "defeat" or for a deformity.
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COMMENTS:
Badget was taken by someone else...:D - Discoveria, 2007-03-21: 08:42:00
"Defeature" is better anyway. - ErWenn, 2007-03-21: 17:45:00
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Techbotcholy
Created by: erasmus
Pronunciation: teck bot ch olly
Sentence: the techbotcholy at our office is so unusable you cant even type your name in without it changing to Korean keyboard layout.
Etymology: from technology and botch
Digitknowitall
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: dij it no it all
Sentence: Reggie had bought a fancy new digital radio/alarm clock/coffeemaker/toaster. It was designed to be efficient in the morning by waking him up on time and getting his breakfast ready. His new appliance was a digitknowitall. Great in theory, but he could never get the radio station he liked programmed into it, so he had to listen to newscasts in a foreign language. He could also never program in the correct time...it was always an hour behind or so. The coffee tasted like something you would expect would come out of a new computer and the toast was always burned black. His only consolation was that the smoke detector awoke him if the alarm failed, the coffee was a handy extinguisher for the burnt breakfast offerings and his clock was right twice a day.
Etymology: Digital (of a circuit or device that represents magnitudes in digits) & Know-It-All (a person who thinks/behaves as if they know everything, but usually knows less than you would think on a subject).
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COMMENTS:
LOL! I'm still laughing, ha ha! Thanks! - splendiction, 2009-10-07: 21:44:00
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Technotlogical
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: tek-not-lodge-ee-call
Sentence: The manual was written in such technotlogical terminology that no one really understood how to actually use the product. Nevertheless, it was a cool piece of technogadgetry and everyone wanted one.
Etymology: technological: relating to or or resulting from technology + not: a logical operator that returns a false value if the operand is true and a true value if the operand is false (whatever that means) + logical: rational, reasonable or sensible
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COMMENTS:
like it - galwaywegian, 2009-10-07: 06:05:00
yes often so true! Good word! - splendiction, 2009-10-07: 21:42:00
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Indautified
Created by: jonobo
Pronunciation: in - doubtified
Sentence: We are surrounded by indautified technology.
Etymology: In as a negative pre-syllable. DAU = German abbreviation for Stupidest Expected User, so SEU in englich. certified. Short: Technology that is not certified for DAUs/SEUs.
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by erasmus.
Thank you erasmus! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by erasmus. Thank you erasmus. ~ James