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failure to communicate 

A failure to communicate occurs when the lines-of-communication are so broken down that you might as well be attempting to convey information not by means of the spoken word, but rather by some obscure and arcane non-verbal dialect comprised solely of farts and tap dancing.
'The story . . . was entitled "The Dancing Fool." Like so many Kilgore Trout stories, it was about a tragic failure to communicate.

'Here was the plot: A flying saucer creature named Zog arrived on Earth to explain how wars could be prevented and how cancer could be cured. He brought the information from Margo, a planet where the natives conversed by means of farts and tap dancing.

'Zog landed at night in Connecticut. He had no sooner touched down than he saw a house on fire. He rushed into the house, farting and tap dancing, warning the people about the terrible danger they were in. The head of the house brained Zog with a golfclub.'

-- From Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions" -- Chapter 5 (page 58).
failure to communicate by Dinkum September 2, 2013

Failure to Spot Sarcasm Alert 

When someone responds to a sarcastic comment with seriousness and makes a fool of themelves, this is what you tell them.
(Bald midget prostitute walks by)

Dave: Wow, that bird was absolutely smoking! Man I'd bang her.
Tony: What? You're a brain dead moron with no taste in women!
Jim: Umm, Tony... Failure to Spot Sarcasm Alert.

failure to launch 

A person who goes to college and loves it so much that they find themselves unable to return to the real world, and remain living at or around their college forever.
"Oh he's cute I wonder what year he is"
"Oh that's Garrett, he graduated like 6 years ago"
"What! I had no idea he was a failure to launch"
"Yeah I guess he just wasn't ready for the harsh reality of the world outside Example University."
failure to launch by groñi July 31, 2012

failure to appear 

What a ghost or genie gets charged with if it doesn't materialize when commanded to do so.
In Shakespeare's play "Henry The Fourth", Glendower boasts that he has the power to "call spirits from the vasty deep", to which Hotspur sarcastically retorts, "Why, so can I, or so can any man --- but will they come when you do call for them?" He should have added, "And if they do not, canst thou prosecute them for 'failure to appear'?"
failure to appear by QuacksO October 7, 2020

failure to launch 

when a relationship stalls in the initial stages and you somehow end up being friends instead
me and natalya failed to launch...there just wasn't enough chemistry...you could say we had "failure to launch" because Urban Dictionary has a retarded need to have the exact wording of a definition present in the example.

failure-to-be 

Someone or something in which is bound to fail. Can be used as fail-to-be.
My friend Mark is a total failure-to-be.
Every new thing he tries his hand at, he fails.
failure-to-be by Paznos February 21, 2009
More from Urban Dictionary
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”

Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
According to the boffins downstairs, the murderer used a serrated blade.
Boffin by Agnon February 11, 2023
Word of the Day on October 3, 2026

Pee Calculus

When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing pee calculus.
Pee Calculus by anorlondo October 1, 2026
Word of the Day on October 2, 2026
Literally "dirty" pronounced with a West Indian accent. Can also have a positive connotation, for example Sean Paul's album title "Dutty Rock".
"The girl is pretty but she corrupt and dutty!"

or, in a positive usage:

"Booya! That freestyle was dutty!"
Dutty by J Hall April 3, 2003
Word of the Day on October 1, 2026
korean word for madam, older woman
Ajumma wait a moment
Ajumma by aintnotinbutnice July 5, 2009
Word of the Day on September 30, 2026

Slop Grenade

When someone uses AI to generate a large document, slide deck, or piece of code/software and tosses it over the fence for you to deal with.
Chad: Hey Brent I sent you the new backend API change to review, it’s only 100 files changed.

Brent: he just tossed me a slop grenade
Slop Grenade by Joe Squid September 28, 2026
Word of the Day on September 29, 2026
Short-hand for the word floccinaucinihilipilification, meaning the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).
After we broke up, he was floxi to me.
floxi by Dr. Geek May 13, 2009
Word of the Day on September 28, 2026
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