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'Why are you vacuuming the Christmas tree?'

DEFINITION: n., 1. A pine needle infestation, common during and after the holiday season. 2. Prickly Christmas guests who will not leave and cannot be cleaned up. v., To fall down during a holiday party and hide under a rug.

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Verboticisms

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Pinattaque

Created by: Lingoism

Pronunciation: pahyn-uh-tak

Sentence: Look after your Christmas tree with care if you don't want your home to be the next victim of pinattaque.

Etymology:

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Pernoydles

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: PURR-noy-dulls

Sentence: Barbara O'Reilly and Keith attempted to remove the PERNOYDLES which spread thru the house like invasive Zebra Mussels, crowding out the native dustballs. Each holiday season, the PERNOYDLES from down the street always stayed until the last dregs of mead were consumed, and the last tasteless limerick recited. During the evening, one guest got a severe attack of the PERNOYDLES and couldn't be located for hours. Last year, we had to drag them out of the sewers and send a few home by taxicab. PERNOYDLES - a must to avoid.

Etymology: PERsistent+anNOY+neeDLES=PERNOYDLES....PERSISTENT:existing for a long or longer than usual holiday time or continuously,retained beyond the usual jolly period,degraded only slowly by the environment;Latin persistent-, persistens, present participle of persistere.....ANNOY:to disturb or irritate especially by repeated pseudo-festive acts or remarks,Middle English anoien, from Anglo-French anuier, ennoier, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome, from Latin in + odium hatred .....NEEDLES: a needle-shaped leaf,a slender pointed object resembling a needle,to harass or mock cruelly, to intentionally irritate ;Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl; akin to Old High German nādala needle, nājan to sew, Latin nēre to spin, Greek nēn.

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COMMENTS:

Linguistically detailed and PERcise. A PERleasure to PERuse! - dochanne, 2008-12-18: 01:35:00

OH HO! Nice etymology. Pernod (liquor) and needles was what first came to mind. - silveryaspen, 2008-12-18: 02:48:00

metrohumanx Thank you. An absinthesis from the wee hours of the morning. :) - metrohumanx, 2008-12-18: 17:32:00

metrohumanx If you want to REALLY laugh, check out the toys at goblertoys.com: - metrohumanx, 2008-12-18: 17:59:00

metrohumanx http://goblertoys.com/ - metrohumanx, 2008-12-18: 18:00:00

Crowding out the native dustballs, how pernicious! PERfect! - Nosila, 2008-12-18: 20:38:00

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Carpetjaggers

mrskellyscl

Created by: mrskellyscl

Pronunciation: car-pet-jag-gers

Sentence: Carpetjaggers are resistant to vacuums, and may still be found in your carpet for several months after the tree has been removed, so caution is advised when running in bare feet; however, after several months, they break down and become part of the room's floora.

Etymology: wordplay on carpetbaggers: someone who moves into an area to take it over -- carpet: floor covering + jaggers: sharp or pointy projections

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Velcronies

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: vel-kroh-neez

Sentence: Jimmy thought it would be nice to throw a Christmas party for his buds. Now it's getting late and he has to work tomorrow but his velcronies just won't take a hint and go home. Even changing into his pajamas didn't do the trick.

Etymology: velcro (tradename for a hook & loop fastener) + cronies (a close friend or companion; chum)

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Festilence

Created by: dochanne

Pronunciation: Fest-y-lence

Sentence: Joe was sick and tired of pulling pine needles out of his socks, tinsel from his jackets and various other christmas detritus from his clothes and furniture. The rug was hopeless, having been unceremoniously rolled up by an intoxicated friend who was himself a vexmastation (vexxing xmas infestation) and who had proceeded to topple the christmas tree and scatter needles, baubles, tinsel and lights asunder. 'Tis the season of festilence', he thought to himself as he vacuumed the rug again.

Etymology: Festive - of the season and the proliferation of easily dispersed and infesting decorations. The mood and wild abandon with which such infesting objects are dispersed and initially ignored. Pestilence - a nuisance or pest, such as the inevitable pine needles, tinsel, baubles, ribbon, cookie crumbs and scraps of wrapping paper that breed when you're not looking and bedeck the house after the christmas hiatus.

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COMMENTS:

love it - Jabberwocky, 2008-12-18: 14:45:00

Brilliant. - OZZIEBOB, 2008-12-19: 04:16:00

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Pinestilence

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: pine/stil/ence

Sentence: The pinestilence invades our home every Christmas season and takes months to rid the house of this dreaded needle.

Etymology: pine + pestilence (a pernicious, evil influence, or agent)

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COMMENTS:

don't pine about it! - Nosila, 2009-12-22: 01:13:00

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Tannenbum

Created by: CaptainHuggyface

Pronunciation:

Sentence: Man, my cousin just won't leave...and it's already Dec. 30th. He's such a Tannenbum!

Etymology: Germ-an

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Infirtration

karenanne

Created by: karenanne

Pronunciation: in fur TRAY shun

Sentence: The infirtration usually starts in mid-December, right after we put up the tree, when we really start to feel them underfoot. By Christmas Eve, they have become really insistent and prickly, and by the day after Christmas, we are ready to throw the whole mess out and just call it a season. But it seems that when cleanup time comes, we don't have many of them around needling us. New Year's Eve seems to bring some of the infirtrators back out of the woodwork, but a little eggnog (spiked) helps numb a lot of the irritation. What's that you say? No, no, not the bits from the tree; it's artificial - I'm talking about the pesky and kvetching relatives!

Etymology: infiltration + fir

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COMMENTS:

firtatious word! - Nosila, 2009-12-22: 01:12:00

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Infestivus

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: infestivus (just like it looks)

Sentence: Debbie and Art were planning a December wedding. To keep it from becoming completely infestivus, Debbie's mother suggested having it a week before Christmas so that out-of-town relatives might stay through Christmas and no longer. She was quite wrong. It turned into Infestivus Maximus with hordes of relatives hanging around until the New Year. Like pine needles stuck in the carpet, she could not get rid of them.

Etymology: infest (of insects or animals) be present (in a place or site) in large numbers, typically so as to cause damage or disease) + festive (cheerful and jovially celebratory) Derivative of Festivus Maximus (Baltimore Raven term for the Super Bowl)

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COMMENTS:

Pine needles are easier to deal with than relatives. They don't get insulted when you yell at them. - wayoffcenter, 2008-12-18: 10:07:00

clever - Seinfeld reference maybe? - Jabberwocky, 2008-12-18: 14:46:00

I like the name...i think you got festivus part from Ravens 2000 Super Bowl Run and added in...you got my vote! - timlumber1, 2008-12-19: 21:50:00

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Holidossus

Created by: Johnhicks

Pronunciation: Hol-y-Dos-sus

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-12-17: 01:45:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram Thank you remistram ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-12-21: 00:14:00
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James

dimatehtunov - 2018-12-21: 21:54:00
good ivning .