Word of the Day

Misunderbutton

misunderbutton
Function: verb
Year: 2008

1. to button one’s clothing so as to leave one buttonhole at the top empty and one button at the bottom unbuttoned, or vice versa. That is, a failure to fully complete the buttoning process.
2. to fail to complete a simple task.

Ok, I’ll admit it: I made it up.

But it’s a sound word, with a real meaning and etymology.

Remember George Bush? Yeah, I thought you did. He coined that word that hasn’t (yet) made it into Merriam-Webster’s or the OED (I checked), misunderestimate.

He also, famously, showed up for his photo-op speech in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, a disaster whose scope he completely misunderestimated, with the intention of showing how large and in charge he was. Instead, he showed up with his shirt incorrectly buttoned: misunderbuttoned.

It all fits neatly together in my head, at least.

Thanks to Bitty for today's WOTD entry