contrafibularities

English

Etymology

contra- +‎ fibular +‎ -ity +‎ -s. From a 1987 episode of the British television comedy Blackadder, after Dr. Samuel Johnson boasts about his newly completed dictionary containing every word in the English language. Blackadder wishes Dr. Johnson his "most enthusiastic contrafibularities", upsetting Johnson, who quickly adds the alleged word to his manuscript.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɒntɹəˌfɪbjʊˈlæɹɪtiz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

contrafibularities pl (plural only)

1. (humorous, rare) False congratulations, sounding congratulatory while actually pulling someone's leg.
   • 2005 November 15, Tsugumi Niyamoto, “Separate Ways”, in alt.games.resident-evil (Usenet):

     I was a bit obscure with that one. Please accept my most sincere contrafibularities...

   • 2011, Neil Strauss, Rules of the Game, →ISBN, page 194:

     My most enthusiastic contrafibularities go to the world-class HarperCollins construction team.

   • 2015 September 2, Ali Plumb, “BAFTAs 2015: The Winners In Full”, in Empire:

     If you don't have time to watch the show itself, here is a taste of Stephen Fry's hosting patter: "the creamily edible Rosamund Pike". A few new words from the Fry lexicon include: "arsewash" and "amazian". Contrafibularities all round!

See also

• anaspeptic
• frasmotic
• compunctuous
• pericombobulation

Further reading

• Blackadder the Third, epi. 2, "Ink and Incapability", on Wikiquote
• Reviewer's Choice on Blackadder the Third