Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n. Anxiety created by an inability to understand or follow the regulations for recycling, composting and garbage collection. v. To feel confused and conflicted because you produce too much garbage and don't know how to get rid of it.
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.
Recyclebabble
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: rēsīkləbabəl
Sentence: Sally is confused by recyclebabble. One day she hears that you can recycle some items, the next day no. One week everything needs to be separated, the next week no. Just last week somebody told her that many cities put recyclables into landfills. As she finishes a carton of eggs, she shutters at the thought of what to do with it.
Etymology: recycle (convert (waste) into reusable material) + babble (talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish manner)
Ecodisorderaphobia
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: eko dis ord era fob eeya
Sentence: Eric was new to the whole recycling thing. He had thought recycling was when they made the Tour de France be run again. He & Kate spent hours trying to sort all their household waste into suitable categories. You could say they suffered from ecodisorderafobia, because they were always afraid they were sorting their trash improperly. Would the Garbage Police shut them down once and for all for failing to conform? For months they lived with this fear. Finally Eric got brave one morning and approached the garbageman (okay Waste Disposal Technician) as he came down their alley. Biting the bullet he bravely asked the civic employee how they were doing in their sorting efforts. The garbageman winked and chuckled and told him not to worry. When Eric pressed him why he should not worry, he was told that all the stuff was just going to be dumped into the landfill anyway! All these months they had been sorting their trash for the seagulls. It was then that Eric & Kate vowed to become ecowarriors and run for city council.
Etymology: ecology (the environment as it relates to living organisms) & disorder (a condition in which things are not in their expected places or disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed) & phobia ( an anxiety disorder characterized by extre
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COMMENTS:
Your sentence and word do a great job of presenting this part of the issue. Excellent! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-25: 12:48:00
I agree. Your sentence hits on the topic of the economics of recycling, and how recycling programs are only successful when it's economically feasible to recycle (i.e. if it costs more to recycle something, then the program must either be subsidized or abandoned). Very thought provoking. - Tigger, 2008-03-25: 22:58:00
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Trashcombobulation
Created by: spotthecat1
Pronunciation: trash-kuhm-bob-yuh-ley-shun
Sentence: Stella and Stan spent hours sorting through the remains of their mega-market shopping splurges and in a fury of trashcombobulation threw all the refuse in a giant Hefty™ bag and carefully deposited the unsorted mess in their neighbor's pile. The only witness was the owl who just blinked and asked, "Who?"
Etymology: (trash)1325–75; ME trasches (pl.), appar. c. Norw trask rubbish; akin to OE trus brushwood, ON tros rubbish + (dis-combobulation) 1825–35, Americanism; fanciful alter. of discompose or discomfort
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COMMENTS:
Very informative etymology! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-25: 13:21:00
Nice! - purpleartichokes, 2008-03-25: 15:19:00
Very nice - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-25: 20:06:00
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Percurbed
Created by: kateinkorea
Pronunciation: per KERBD
Sentence: I am getting fed up with Mike always being percurbed about putting out our recylables on the road. He worries about whether we are putting out too much or too little. Last week he brought some of our trash to work so nobody would see it in front of our place in our recycle bins.
Etymology: PERTURBED: alarmed anxious or worried about something CURB: side of the road
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COMMENTS:
funny - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-15: 13:20:00
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Strashed
Created by: readerwriter
Pronunciation: st-rah-sh-t
Sentence: One Tuesday morning, after hauling her final recycling bin to the curb, Camilla felt so strashed by the process of sorting through what was to go where, she fell in front of the large garbage truck as it barrelled towards the curb. Her dying thoughts were wondering what bin they would put her in.
Etymology: A verb. A combination of STRESSED and TRASHED
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COMMENTS:
Perfect word! - silveryaspen, 2009-01-15: 12:30:00
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Garbanguish
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: gahr-ang-gwish
Sentence: It's Wednesday night again and you know what that means, garbanguish. Phil and Marcia have done their usual lousy job of sorting their trash for recycling. Now they are sure to be humiliated if the neighbors see their trashcan overflowing with garbage. So, to show how environmentally-conscious they are, Phil prepares a tiny trashcan to put out on the curb and stuffs a huge contractor-weight lawn bag with the rest, secrets it into the trunk of his car and flings it into the dumpster at the back of the parking lot at work the next morning.
Etymology: garbage (discarded animal and vegetable matter, as from a kitchen; refuse) + anguish (excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain)
Discomposture
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: dis/com/post/yur
Sentence: I hurried down the street with my sunglasses on, listening to my ipod, so that none of the neighbours would notice my discomposture after I had hastily stashed a plastic muffin tray in the recycling bin. It did have a recyling symbol on it but I wasn't sure if the number was acceptable or not.
Etymology: discomposure + compost + dis (as in disrespect)
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COMMENTS:
Oh, how I love compost! Wish there was a song about it. Good word! - purpleartichokes, 2008-03-25: 12:45:00
With originality you have captured the meaning and feeling in the definition again ... with wit and humor thrown in! Outstanding! - silveryaspen, 2008-03-25: 13:28:00
After reading your sentence, I had to google "recycling number" to understand what you are talking about here. Maybe it's because I'm an American, or maybe it's because I live in the middle of the United States (and not on a coast) but I admit I had no earthly idea that there were numbers on recyclables. Alas, we have no curb-side recyclables on my street. - doseydotes, 2008-03-25: 14:19:00
Okay, stache just privately pointed out that there IS, in fact, curbside recycling on my street, and he expressed surprise that I did not know about recycling numbers. I, apparently, am a recylidiot. Or an ecolodork. Or . . . you fill it in. - doseydotes, 2008-03-25: 15:26:00
wow - I think James might have (quite litter/ally)saved a little part of the planet today by choosing such a green definition. No more recylaments doseydotes. - Jabberwocky, 2008-03-25: 15:44:00
I'll be calling the City first thing tomorrow morning to ask for a bin. I'm . . . so . . . ashamed. - doseydotes, 2008-03-25: 17:54:00
Ashaamed, nay! I once thought that the triangular-shaped chasing arrows meant Danger! Crushing this plastic container may cause serious arrow-like injury. - purpleartichokes, 2008-03-25: 19:08:00
Great word - OZZIEBOB, 2008-03-25: 20:07:00
Clever creations — love it! - Tigger, 2008-03-25: 23:30:00
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Environdimentia
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /en-vay-ern-di-MEN-shuh/
Sentence: On the point of crying, Lauren sat slumped between bins of plastic bottles and stacks of papers, in a state of environdimentia. She knew that the #1 and #2 plastics were supposed to go together, but there was also a bin for bottles with 'necks'... so then what did those numbers mean on the bottles with the necks? Then there were the plastic bags, and some were recyclable, but some weren't. There was also the newspapers, and she remembered something about not mixing in any shiny circulars and flyers, which were often stuck into the newspapers when they were sold. Why would they do that?! It all seemed so ecoillogical. Lauren's husband Gregg would be home soon, and he was an ecologist — he understood all the rules. But he couldn't seem to understand why Lauren didn't get it, and he'd be frustrated with her again. She really wanted to be a tree hugger, like he was, but with all these crazy rules she felt like more of a tree-shrugger.
Etymology: Environment - natural surroundings (from Old French, environ "in circle") + Dementia - madness or insanity (from Low Latin, démentāre "deprive of mind")
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COMMENTS:
I like the way you presented a different way of looking at this. Strong verboticism. - silveryaspen, 2008-03-25: 12:45:00
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Recyclophobic
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: re-cyc-lah-FOE-bick
Sentence: Edgemont was absolutely recyclophobic when it came time to separate recyclables for collection each Thursday, as he could not grasp the concept of separating those materials from ordinary refuse and he always wound up leaving the job to his wife, Myrtle.
Etymology: blend of 'recycle' (to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse) and 'phobic' (a person suffering from a phobia)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James
stache - 2008-03-25: 02:10:00
I love the "IDEAS" bin.
Thanks stache. That's the bin where I put out my old ideas for recycling. ~ James
Jamagra - 2008-03-25: 08:07:00
James... maybe you could recycle those ideas my way? Love the cartoon and the word, but today... I got nothin'.
Jamagra - 2008-03-25: 09:10:00
Oh! Thought of something. I'm good now!
remistram - 2008-03-25: 10:23:00
got our massive bin last week...process is a bit more streamlined, am happy now!
purpleartichokes - 2008-03-25: 11:15:00
Lucky you, remi... our community recycling consists of loading the stuff up in your car and taking it to the recycling center on one of the few days/hours that they happen to be open. Sucks. I did get a FREE compost bin from our state env. protection folks. $80 value. My mother (and only my mother) is so proud!
My Rottin' Poem
I love my compost pile!
It thrills me to the bone
To think that all that wilted slop
Will enhance the crops I've grown!
I garden with a passion,
And I compost with a zeal.
I collect the coffee grounds at work
And cherish every peel.
In my cellar I compost in winter
Much to my son's dismay.
Though sweet to me, the smell can chase
Unwanted guests away.
My pile in the summer
Is a another sad slop story.
The dog next door gulps the gourmet treat,
Then regurgitates... quite gory.
The peels get strewn about my lawn
By some midnight compost thief.
I try to promptly pick up the stuff,
Before the neighbors give me grief.
The egg-shells never make it
To calcify my plants.
The birds steal most of the precious shards
Or they get toted off by ants.
My composting efforts without a bin
Have been daunting, to say the least.
By the time the stuff finally starts to rot,
It gets eaten by some beast.
So you see, kind folks at DEP
Why it's for a bin I pray.
If I can clean up my compost act,
The neighbors might let me stay!
silveryaspen - 2008-03-25: 13:09:00
Funtastic rhyme and reasoning!
Hey purple, I figured you loved vegetables, and guessed you were a dedicated composter, but composting in your basement??? Yikes!! Maybe that's why your shower curtain is covered in mildew. ~ James
Jamagra - 2008-03-25: 17:25:00
Purple, I am very proud of you too! You grow, girl!
purpleartichokes - 2008-03-25: 18:21:00
Um, yeah, I actually did compost in the basement in a garbage can. Apparently, I didn't add enough "browns" to the mix, cuz when I dumped it in the spring, the neighborhood smelled like a cesspool for days. ...oops. Thanks Jamagra! I'm gonna try my hand at a giant punkin this year! James - thanks for the idea. I bet that shower curtain junk would compost nicely!
arrrteest - 2008-03-25: 18:37:00
Great poem, too! I used to have a worm composting bin. At least the kids thought it was cool.
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James
greentard
AlenaTable - 2018-06-01: 03:13:00
Широкий ассортимент биопрепаратов для перерабатывающих предприятий и сельского хозяйства
Tamaratequera - 2018-06-01: 18:07:00
Древторг Woodtrade, пиломатериаl