Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: n., Cautionary advice provided by parents to their children, often makes no logical sense but carries enough emotional weight to affect the child's behavior. v. To warn of danger through the judicious use of exaggeration.
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.
Mamalore
Created by: thebaron
Pronunciation: ma-ma-lore
Sentence: Whenever we ate oranges and swallowed the seeds, Aunt Janet would spurt out some mamalore, saying that oranges trees would grow in our stomachs.
Etymology: mama (mother) lore (length/myth)
Causham
Created by: Rehlit
Pronunciation: kaw-sham
Sentence: Many parents use an insidious causham to frighten their naughty children. Such as "If you eat watermelon seeds, a watermelon will grow in your stomach!"
Etymology: Caution(a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning) + sham (something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation; fraud or hoax; pretended; counterfeit; feigned:)
Embullshitishment
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: emboŏlshitishmənt
Sentence: Billy grew in a world of embullshitishment. His parents would tell him **Step on a crack and you*ll break your mother*s back**. **Eat your vegetables or the dog will eat your foot**. The world can only wait to see how he will encourage his own children.
Etymology: embellishment (a decorative detail or feature added to something to make it more attractive) + bullshit (stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
tee-hee! - mrskellyscl, 2010-01-20: 06:26:00
----------------------------
Mythconduct
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /mith-kon-dukt/
Sentence: Donna stared wistfully at her friends splashing in the pool, and glanced up at the clock again — it'd been only 53 minutes since she'd eaten that banana — seven more minutes before she could go back in the pool. Her mother had warned her many times that going into the water less than an hour after eating would inevitably cause cramps, which were somehow always fatal. 'Would she die from drowning or from the cramps themselves?' she wondered. What if she just dangled her legs in the water? No, it was just too risky. She couldn't overcome the mythconduct her mother had instilled into her. Six minutes and forty five seconds to go...
Etymology: Myth - any invented story, idea, or concept (from Greek, mythos "speech, story") + Conduct - personal behavior; way of acting (from Latin, conductus "to lead or bring together")
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
I always doubted this prohibition. I even sent it in to "Mythbusters"....to no avail. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-29: 06:00:00
Well, Mythbusters did prove that you shouldn't spin around in a makeshift wirlpool too soon after eating pizza. Funny episode. But I'm convinced that the 1-hour 'no swimming' rule is nonsense. But I knew kids whose mothers wouldn't even let them stand in the wading pool because of that rule. - Tigger, 2008-08-29: 10:12:00
Good word - TJayzz, 2008-08-29: 13:43:00
Welcome back, Tigger, we mythed you! - Nosila, 2008-08-29: 20:09:00
This one is my favorite, well done! - Rehlit, 2008-09-01: 00:50:00
Good word there Tigger, it has a nice ring to it! I like the way you think :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-03-14: 19:07:00
----------------------------
Veilacide
Created by: Rhyme79
Pronunciation: vale-uh-syde
Sentence: My dad was really good at veilacide when we were kids. He had us believing all sorts of things that we now know are utter piffle. For example, he told us that if we didn't brush our teeth they would fall out and fly away to find an old person that needed them! For a while I actually believed that eating my crusts would give me curly hair, so I didn't eat them because I wanted straight hair!
Etymology: An anagram of lie-advice. Veil, ( to cover or conceal, a pretense)+ cide, (latin - killer or the act of killing, in this case 'the truth'!)+ the left over 'a' in the middle = veilacide.
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
funny story - DrWebsterIII, 2012-11-03: 04:55:00
----------------------------
Hegglestion
Created by: frenchprof
Pronunciation:
Sentence: Hegglestion noted, the philosopher cracked up.
Etymology: comes from Hegel a famous philosopher.
Whopperstopper
Created by: kerryb
Pronunciation: wopur stopur
Sentence: My parents never failed to verbalize any number of whopperstoppers in order to curb my ongoing misbehavior.
Etymology: whopper: A ridiculous and ostentatiously bodacious lie or misnomer that would violate the bounds of belief beyond any child older than 5! stopper: A metaphorical line in the sand that is designed to cease unwanted action or behavior.
Mombombs
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: mom-bomz
Sentence: She had tried chiding. She had tried guilt. Finally Mom went to the scarsenal and started lobbing mombombs. Scientists aren't sure how deep the psychological scars go but, like a black hole, the light of logic rarely escapes from this abyss.
Etymology: Mom (noun: informal, one's mother) + bomb (noun: incendiary material or other destructive substance)
----------------------------
COMMENTS:
Fire in the hole! - metrohumanx, 2008-08-29: 06:05:00
We usually hid for cover up in the Dadic. - lumina, 2008-08-29: 15:38:00
----------------------------
Hyperbmonition
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: high-perb-mo--ni-tion
Sentence: Mom could come up with a great hyperbmonition when needed, especially where boys were concerned. As a result of her wise counsel, I haven't worn patent leather shoes since the fourth grade.
Etymology: hyperbole: figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect + monition: cautionary advice or counsel; admonition
Badmonition
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: bad-mo-ni-shun
Sentence: Know for her dark predictions, Grandma offered another of her badmonitions when she told us that eating too much candy would stunt our growth.
Etymology: bad + admonition
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram! ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by remistram. Thank you remistram. ~ James