Vote for the best verboticism.

'When I said that you're a loser, I meant it as a compliment.'

DEFINITION: v. To exercise power through the strategic use of personal insults, while pretending to offer encouragement. n. A leader who motivates people by insulting them.

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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.

Facadeist

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: fass add ist

Sentence: When Joan Collins played Alexis I-don't-Care-ington Coldby on "Dynasty" everyone thought she was a great actress, as well as an 80's clothes-horse supreme. She could work a room of naive men and fool millions of viewers. That is until those cat-fight scenes with her arch-rival, he ex Blake's new wife,Krystle (Linda Evans)...then they realized that those kissy, kissy, let's do lunch real soon, have your people call my people overtures were the mark of a real facadeist. Yes, they should have named the series after her, Die-Nasty!

Etymology: facade (a showy misrepresentation intended to conceal something unpleasant or being two-faced, not showing what you really feel) & sadist (someone who obtains pleasure from inflicting pain on others)

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COMMENTS:

metrohumanx Latent loathing lingers. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-05: 07:17:00

Spot On ! - Wordotwist, 2008-08-05: 09:34:00

Great word AND soap opera sniglet! - lumina, 2008-08-05: 12:26:00

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| Comments and Points

Unspiratarian

Created by: jadenguy

Pronunciation: un spire a terian

Sentence: On the high seas, it was often that Horatio asked himself what his greater destiny was, his raison d’etre. The captain always told him that he wasn't as dumb as he looked, that the only good decision he'd ever made was to find himself a place onboard because the real world would eat him alive, that keeping storage room clean was one thing even he couldn't screw up, that at least he had more facial hair than his wife, but not much. This unspiritarian had all but destroyed the ferocity of crew, but Horatio continued to believe that this was where he needed to be, that great things were going to happen. Few and far between have there been greater moments of forsight.

Etymology: un + inspire + totalitarian

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COMMENTS:

wow, that was a long'un. - jadenguy, 2007-06-12: 09:57:00

perhaps he should have become a unspirational unmotivational speaker - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-12: 12:01:00

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Middleearth

Created by: nynaeve

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

| Comments and Points

Leadersnip

Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: lee - dur - snip

Sentence: Patricia knew how to practice leadersnip. This skill was honed over a period of time as a manager in the Marketing Department at Pepper Hill Cosmetics. All good ideas were her own and if someone else started to believe in their writing skills a bit too avidly, Patrice knew how to snip their copy - - and them down to size; thus yielding a better slogan authored by "herself"

Etymology: leader - a person who demonstrates the ability to motivate and manage people. snip - cut, reduce or chide

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Condemnagog

Created by: purpleartichokes

Pronunciation: kun-dem-ah-gog

Sentence: At the meeting, we counted six insults proffered by Frank, the condemnagog, including one subtle double-slam on the presenter's mentor.

Etymology: condemn, demagog

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COMMENTS:

How appropriate. This actually happened yesterday. - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-12: 05:20:00

wasn't magog a god of war as well? Even moooore appropriate. - galwaywegian, 2007-06-12: 06:24:00

petaj He went presentimental over the attack on his advisor. - petaj, 2007-06-12: 07:54:00

Love it! Really splendid. - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:30:00

Excellent! - ErWenn, 2007-06-13: 00:35:00

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Trollmodel

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: trole model

Sentence: Alexis was the ultimate trollmodel. She thought if you stimulated people by making them angry, intimidated and resentful that she could manoeuver them to her whims. She apparently had never heard the adage, "Do unto others..."

Etymology: Troll (Scandinavian creature, human-like, lives under bridges or in caves...can be nice outwardly, but can be deceptive, thieving and untrustable) & Model (someone worthy of imitation) & WordPlayon Role Model (someone to set good example; to be copied)

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Compliminsult

Created by: couv78

Pronunciation: Com-pli-min-sult

Sentence: She just told me that the report looks good but she reckons she could have had a monkey do it and get the same result - I think she just compliminsulted me?

Etymology: From Compliment and Insult

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Scofficer

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: SCOFF-i-sir

Sentence: MEMO To: All Staff From: Scofficer Martin %%%%%%%% It is with great pleasure that I can tell you all about Mary Jane's excellent performance. Due to her repulsive smell brought on by inadequate personal hygiene, she has single handedly reduced the number of complaints submitted at the customer service desk to zero. Congratulations Mary Jane.

Etymology: scoff + officer + sir

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COMMENTS:

HA! - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-12: 07:51:00

This one's excellent, too. So many good words today. - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:31:00

that mary jane must have nulfactory senses! - jadenguy, 2007-06-12: 10:02:00

Great sentence! - mplsbohemian, 2007-06-12: 14:00:00

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| Comments and Points

Disencourage

Created by: rephil

Pronunciation: dis-en-CUR-adj

Sentence: Martha made it a point to disencourage everyone in her office before noon every day.

Etymology: dis -- not; encourage -- to support

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Mastard

Created by: Clayton

Pronunciation: MAS-terd

Sentence: H. Clancy Pettigrew was a mastard of insultimate penuriousadism. His misanthrapaciousness was rivaled only by his truculentertaining friendishness.

Etymology: master + bastard

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COMMENTS:

Interestingly, there is a rhetorical term for the art of insulting people without them knowing it: Charientism. Traditionally it means "the act of stating something objectionable in an agreeable manner." - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:25:00

petaj I love this sentence. It's a cornucopious assemblerection of tonguetwisting verbsmithery. - petaj, 2007-06-12: 08:41:00

I get it from years of reading Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty. Please don't tell anyone! - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:48:00

you're secret's safe with me. - jadenguy, 2007-06-12: 10:01:00

Nooooo! The only way three people can keep a secret is if two of me are already dead! Now I'll have to start reading other lunatics with undying affinities for pointless displays of frantic hippopotomonstrosesquipedalianism. - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 10:11:00

Wow! love the sentence - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-12: 15:00:00

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-06-12: 01:52:00
The second step in Timothy Johnson's GUST process is Understanding. And apparently, based on the number of definitions we received on this topic, everybody understands what it is like to have a bad boss. Today's definition was suggested by ohwtepph , suzanne, and remistram. Thank you ohwtepph, suzanne, remistram, and Timothy! ~ James

lumina - 2008-08-07: 13:49:00
Wow! So fun and an honor to have come up with the "winning" word. "I'd like to thank the Academy, my parents and of course Jesus." ha Thanks to the voters! (she says as the music starts playing and the tap dancing man with the hook from the gong show comes into view...)

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-01-06: 00:05:00
Today's definition was suggested by ohwtepph. Thank you ohwtepph. ~ James