Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v., To search for and find a pen to write down an important note, only to discover that the pen does not work. n., A moment in time when the only pens you can find, are pens that do not work.
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.
Peninsulate
Created by: QuantumMechanic
Pronunciation: pen en suh late
Sentence: I knew the answer, but I didn't couldn't call in to win, because I was peninsulated -- all of the pens I found were dead.
Etymology: pen (ink writing instrument) + insulate (isolate), parallel to peninsula (an isolated spit of land)
Ballpointless
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: bôlˌpoint lis
Sentence: Rusty had a wonderful idea. This happened so infrequently that it seemed imperative to write it down. He reached for a ballpointless pen and proceeded to do little more than tear a hole in a piece of paper. This whole exercise was ballpointless. He then had to try his entire collection of paper scratchers. As he looked at the advertising message on a pen and wondered where he had pilfered each one, the original thought he wanted to save for humanity slowly faded away, never to return.
Etymology: ballpoint (a pen with a tiny ball as its writing point) + pointless (having little or no sense, use, or purpose)
Quilliterate
Created by: porsche
Pronunciation: kwill/it/ur/at
Sentence: Without his ink source Dave was quilliterate.
Etymology: quill + illiterate
Inkonspicuous
Created by: Jabberwocky
Pronunciation: in/kon/spic/u/us
Sentence: Maybe if he pressed hard enough on the paper he would be able to see an outline of his words but the pen was virtually inkonspicuous.
Etymology: ink + inconspicuous
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COMMENTS:
sweet - leechdude, 2007-11-06: 21:14:00
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Dristylus
Created by: idavecook
Pronunciation: Dry-STRY-lus
Sentence: After repeatedly licking the pen Chip was now under the all to common spell of dristylus.
Etymology: Dry + Stylus "i" for fun!
Birony
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: by ron ee
Sentence: It was one of life's bits of birony that Fred could only find pens in his house that were all out of ink. He could never find the write stuff!
Etymology: Biro (a pen that has a small metal ball as the point of transfer of ink to paper) & Irony (incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs)
Pendaver
Created by: Stevenson0
Pronunciation: pen/daver
Sentence: It's another of Murphy's Laws that writing utensils turn into pendavers when an important message needs to be scribbled.
Etymology: PENDAVER noun - from PEN (instrument for writing) + CADAVER (a dead body)
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COMMENTS:
I bet Dexter has several pendavers - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-03: 09:47:00
Good word - OZZIEBOB, 2008-10-05: 17:35:00
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Bickenscratch
Created by: xirtam
Pronunciation: bic-en-skrach
Sentence: With the only pen I could find out of ink, I had to bickenscratch the phone number into the note pad so I could read the indentations later.
Etymology: bic: a brand of pen + Chicken Scratch: slang; poor or illegible writing. Scratch: To write or draw by scraping or cutting the lines into a surface.
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COMMENTS:
To be precise, this is the inevitable result of the event described, but I like it! 'He bickenscratched his way through the morning until he finally found a pen that worked.' - Tigger, 2007-11-06: 13:23:00
I like it too. Resembles my grocery list. - purpleartichokes, 2007-11-06: 20:01:00
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Forsakepen
Created by: MrDave2176
Pronunciation: for-SAYK-pen / KWILL-kwest
Sentence: Joel was feeling foresakepen. His quillquest netted him a handful of nibarren plastic rods useful for little more than stirring coffee. Nibarren = empty nib (the thing that dispenses the ink)
Etymology: foresa(ken) + pen / quill (a quill is always useless without ink) + quest
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COMMENTS:
very good - lots of great words in your sentence - Jabberwocky, 2007-11-06: 11:40:00
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Inkpediment
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: ink-PED'e-ment
Sentence: Unable to find a working pen, Barbara walked from room to room repeatedly chanting the phone number, while hoping to overcome her inkpediment.
Etymology: ink + impediment
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COMMENTS:
or inkPENdiment, perhaps. - MrDave2176, 2007-11-06: 09:19:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by vixphilia. Thank you vixphilia! ~ James'
OZZIEBOB - 2007-11-06: 16:53:00
Good word!
Today's definition was suggested by vixphilia. Thank you vixphilia. ~ James
Petrikreink - 2020-03-03: 05:14:00