Vote for the best verboticism.
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.
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.
Galvannihilate
Created by: CharlieB
Pronunciation: gal-van-eye-a-late
Sentence: The staff were conflicted by their boss. "You fat &*!£s need to show me what ya got!" she would yell. After a team hug and a pep talk they'd rush back to their desks feeling excited. But there was also a lingering sense of humiliation. They'd been well and truly galvannihilated.
Etymology: galvanise (to stimulate or excite) + annihilate (to destroy)
Fabrimprecate
Created by: ziggy41
Pronunciation: Fab-remp-ah-kayte
Sentence: Our boss elucidated to us that from her country what we thought crude was, infact, a normal "hello" gesture. Once we found out she was born in America we knew she was fabrimprecating the whole time, and was just giving us the finger.
Etymology: Fabricate (to fake or lie) + imprecate (to utter a curse)
Meanager
Created by: pungineer
Pronunciation: Meanie + ger
Sentence: Tarquin pondered whilst refrying the fries, he was on a fascinating 'Work your way round the Deep South' US gap year, the Himalayas had been fully booked, unfortunately... yes absolutely he though to himself, yes the OED have really missed a trick there, because, right, Bubba, is quite mean, I mean you could call him a meanie even, and he's my manager, well it says so on his badge so, right, well, actually he should be called a Meanager, because that's absolutely so what he is! Maybe i will study classics at Oxford next year, I've certainly got the language skills he ruminated further as he scrapped the grits off the gumbo....
Etymology: Just like Tarquin said in the story Mean or Meanie + Manager = Meanager
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
When there was no crawdads, we ate dirt. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-06: 16:33:00
----------------------------
Mortfortify
Created by: porsche
Pronunciation: mort/fort/i/fye
Sentence: The sales manager managed to mortfortify his team on a daily basis. He told them they were all stars, outperforming last years numbers to such a degree that he would hire more staff and thus reduce their bonuses
Etymology: mortify + fortify
Snideypraise
Created by: TJayzz
Pronunciation: Sny-dee-pray-ze
Sentence: Rebecca thought she was a great boss, she didn't even realise by the way she encouraged her staff by mixing encouragement and insults in the same sentence, her staff could actually see right through her and knew all along that she was using the snideypraise method.
Etymology: Snidey(derogatory or mocking in an indirect way) + Praise(to express warm approval of) ORIGIN preiser Old French to prize, from Latin pretium 'price' = Snideypraise
Upsult
Created by: badsnudge
Pronunciation: \up-ˈsəlt\
Sentence: "Sure, you're lazy. But its the ambitious people who are destroying the planet.", he upsulted.
Etymology: up (from uplift) sult (from insult)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Good one, badsnudge...compact! - Nosila, 2008-08-05: 22:24:00
Very Good. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-08-06: 04:55:00
Succinct and bound to become trendy. Bravo! - metrohumanx, 2008-08-06: 16:28:00
----------------------------
Cowhoperate
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: co - WHOP - ehr - ayt
Sentence: Hillary delighted in using her status as supervisor to cowhoperate with her subordinates, employing seemingly sweet outpourings of sympathy for their problems while delivering sarcastic and crude insults.
Etymology: Blend of cooperate and whop...( A sudden sharp, powerful stroke)..verbal in this case
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Ouch! Cuts me to the quick. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-05: 07:19:00
I read that as Cow + Operate which i think is a perfect word for such office bovines - pungineer, 2008-08-05: 10:56:00
----------------------------
Comments:
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...)
Today's definition was suggested by ohwtepph. Thank you ohwtepph. ~ James