In a story, any line of dialogue or plot development intended to be humorous or dramatic that instead has a negative impact because it exhibits some or all of the following
characteristics:
1) It is awkwardly phrased, excessively wordy and/or
repetitive
2) It creates glaring plot holes and derails established characterization
3) It is highly self-indulgent and/or self-congratulatory, drawing attention to itself instead of fitting smoothly into
the narrativePontaffisms differ from instances of narm in that narmy things are unintentionally amusing whereas pontaffisms are unintentionally painful, obnoxious and/or rage-inducing.
The games Sonic Colors and Sonic Lost World are filled with pontaffisms, such as "
Baldy McNosehair", "Did somebody order an extra-large clobbering with
everything?" and "
The only thing that's getting conquered is your face!" These make the cutscenes almost unbearable for many people.