Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To obsess over, and fantasize about electronic gadgets even though you can never figure out how they actually work. n. A beautiful but useless gadget.
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.
Wowidget
Created by: LonePaladin
Pronunciation: wou-wij-it
Sentence: 1. It's always fun to watch Phillip wowidget over the latest cell phones. 2. Just about everything sold at Sharper Image is a wowidget; nice to look at, but do you really need it?
Etymology: 1. Wow + 'idjit' (slang for idiot) 2. Wow + widget
Technohocklical
Created by: mana1066
Pronunciation: tek no hok lick el
Sentence: He was so technohocklical that he would go to the internet cafe and stand over everyones shoulders until he got kicked out.
Etymology: technological + hock(dont know why i liked hock in there- it just felt right)
Gorgeberry
Created by: w5lf9s
Pronunciation: gorge-berry
Sentence: He had loved it. The shiny touch screen. The color display at the back. The "find me in the dark" function. The sleek leather carrying case. He had looked at it a hundred times that first day he'd had it. He hadn't taken it to the office right away because it had been such a pleasure to imagine the look of sheer envy in his colleagues' eyes when he would pull it out of his briefcase the first time. He had thoroughly enjoyed that first time! Last night on TV he saw an ad for the NEW model ... a new gorgeberry!
Etymology: gorgeous+blackberry (also related to the verb "to gorge" as in "devour" or "consume")
Enigtronic
Created by: libertybelle
Pronunciation: en-ig-tron-nick
Sentence: Mabel spent 2 clueless hours fiddling with her new cell phone before she realized the enigtronic device had to slide open. That was after she broke the phone in two trying to flip in open.
Etymology: enigma + electronic
Contriviance
Created by: blacklotus90
Pronunciation: kun-triv-ee-ance
Sentence: That new RSS-reading toaster is nothing more than a contriviance!
Etymology: Contrivance (a device to perform a certain task) + Trivial (pointless, useless, futile)
Gizmofetish
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: GIZ - moe - fet - ish
Sentence: Being smitten with a very passionate gizmofetish, Warren could not pass up any opportunity to fiddle with technological toys or devices and often made a complete fool of himself with his absolute lack of understanding of how they work.
Etymology: Blend of 'gizmo' (A mechanical device or part whose name is forgotten or unknown; a gadget) and 'fetish' (any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion)
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COMMENTS:
It's terrible to suffer the stigma of a thingamajig hangup. Damn those deviant doohickeys! - metrohumanx, 2008-07-25: 01:15:00
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Electrowidget
Created by: texmom
Pronunciation: e lect o wid jet
Sentence: He bought the $600 red electrowidget as a gift for himself on Father's Day even though he had no clue what it was.
Etymology: electro - run by electricity widget - something non-understandable but useful.
Nerdbrain
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: nurd-breyn
Sentence: John has to have every new device or gadget that hits the market. The only problem is he is such a nerdbrain that he can barely figure out how to open the package much less than make it work. The good thing is that he has pristine items to trade in or re-sell when the new one comes out.
Etymology: nerd (stupid or ridiculous person ) + birdbrain (a stupid, foolish, or scatterbrained person)
Whatchamadooz
Created by: ErWenn
Pronunciation: /ˌʍʌtʃəməˈduz/
Sentence: My new vacuum cleaner comes with all sorts of whatchamadoozes and wherchamattachits, but the instruction manual only has very ambiguous pictures.
Etymology: From "What does it do?" in the same way that "whatchamacallit" comes from "What do you call it?"
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COMMENTS:
I think that the ambiguous, uncaptioned picture-instructions included with some whatchamadoozes would make a good verboticism. - ErWenn, 2007-06-04: 02:33:00
OK, just to be fair I'm waiting until later today to vote, but rest assured: you've got my vote. One of 'em, anyway. - Clayton, 2007-06-04: 06:27:00
Thanks both for voting and for waiting! - ErWenn, 2007-06-04: 12:08:00
I think they call those drawings Picasholes. I've used one to try to assemble what looked like a simple filing cabinet. Five months, and five friends later, it's almost together! - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-04: 15:29:00
Done and done. - Clayton, 2007-06-04: 21:41:00
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Doohickey
Created by: colapop
Pronunciation: \ˈdü-ˌhi-kē\
Sentence: Alice flashed her doohickey at Todd and he was floored. 'Wow, what is that?' he exclaimed, itching to get his hands on the device. 'No no Mister, don't you dare touch my doohickey until you've read the manual' she cooed.
Etymology: 'Doohickey' first originated in 1914, but seems fit for a revival. It derives from the word 'doodad' (gadget) + 'hickey' (love mark)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by shutz. Thank you shutz! ~ James
Read about Jabberwocky's Garden of Verbal Delights in Verbotoweek.
pronunciation: uh-GOG-uh-tek........... sentence:Poor old Ira Gobler was AGOGATECH at his designer's latest device.He was so AGOGATECH that he let the factory's flaccid finances flow into a virtual vat of vapors while he thoughtfully tinkered and tweaked the tin toys and gamboled among the gizmoes generated just beyond the grounded iron gates of the fabrication facility...Someday...he would write an operator's manual...................... etymology: Agog+at+Technology=aGOGatech!
Sometimes my "comments" seem to appear in the wrong places....if only some clever soul would invent a GIZBO to prevent that.
....my brain hurts.....
Today's definition was suggested by shutz. Thank you shutz. ~ James