Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? How we form portmanteaus. Understandably, there are plenty more portmanteaus out there which didn’t really take off (or maybe haven’t is the word), otherwise, you would see more of them in common use, such as jeggings from jeans and leggings, coopetition from cooperation + competition and staycation from stay and vacation (or in other words, bumming at home). Brunch is a great example, a word for the meal that’s not quite breakfast or lunch. For that you can thank Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland. This is one of the classic examples of portmanteaus. The outbreak spurred a need for better designed hazmat suits, including this new suit design. Back in the 1800’s, a Governor by the name of Elbridge Gerry redrew districts in Massachusetts to his political benefit. In this post, we’re going to dive into the world of portmanteaus (that last bit is pronounced –toe, if you’re wondering). It’s pretty common to see portmanteaus used in the tech industry, notably on tech sites. Copyright © 2020 Daily Writing Tips . Infotainment (information/entertainment): information presented in a format intended to attract with its entertainment value, 18. So a portmanteau is formed from two french words, “porter” which means carry and “manteau” which means mantle – a mantle is a cloak, the kind Anna wore in Frozen, or if you are a more traditionalist fairy tale lover, what Red Riding Hood wore en route to grandma’s house (to be honest, I’ve always thought it was a cape but I digress). For the just plain funny/crack examples: "Bike" for Mike/Brittany, "Cherry" for Mike/Rachel, "Fabang" for Mike/Quinn... and guess what portmanteau Puck/Finn and Sam/Puck get. His characters speak in alliteration, onomatopoeia, anagrams and portmanteaus, choosing to say “churgle” instead of “laugh” or “bish” instead of “ruin.” It tends to produce neologisms to replace anglicisms. If a person becomes short-tempered or easily angered when they are hungry, that’s what hangry is. The Atlantic Wire wrote an amazing guide to creating good portmanteaus , which you should read and giggle at, right after you read our list of the food portmanteaus we wish would die. plausibly … Oct 2, 2015 - A combination of two (or more) words into one new word, fusing both the sounds and the meanings of its components. Unfortunately, few-to-none of us are William Shakespeare, so the new words usually end up being portmanteaus. Funny enough, if our French Inspector Clouseau were here, he might bid you adieu, literally “to God.” Combo words in hiding Portmanteaus are created by blending parts of two words and combining two different meanings to make a new word. Couch was sentence to a rehabilitation facility instead of jailtime. electrocution and motorcade) because I had no idea they were portmanteau words at all — a bit of history that makes me wonder how many of the modern ones you listed will still be in use in a decade or so. You see it’s like a portmanteau — there are two meanings packed up into one word. So they came up with smog, which is a mashup of smoke and fog. Kentaco Hut is one that comes to me, although its a name. Gaydar (gay/radar): the ability to identify a person as a homosexual based on observation of the person’s appearance and/or behavior, 17. Cosplay (costume/play): wearing costumes and accessories that resemble those of characters from various forms of popular culture, or the subculture that engages in cosplay, 11. And fog is what you have on a damp, cold day or night, when you can’t see very far. Although the French plural of the word is portmanteaux, in English we can just say portmanteaus. Put them together and you use portmanteau to refer to travelling bags or suitcases (because they carry your cloaks around?) Absatively posolutely superrific! Anacronym (anachronism/acronym): an acronym derived from a phrase no longer widely known (for example, radar), 3. Biomimicry: How Nature Inspired Today's Technology, 20 Awesome Treehouses For Your Inspiration, 7 Great Ways to Increase Your Productivity, 10 Sites For Latest E-Sports News & Professional Gaming Tips, 10 Reasons We Won't Need Passwords In the Future. I’ll have to remember to use it, as I’m sure the occasion will arise in no time. Here are some examples. This list is not exhaustive, which means this is your chance to tell us what your favorite portmanteaus are. If you need examples, go here and here. That’s just creating a new word. In the best examples, the new word can be both amusing and "more than the sum of its two parts" ... hence Edutainment to describe the purpose of this quiz. Spork is another neat… Basically it’s an article written in the form of a list, a common format many sites like ours adopt. One of its most inventive components is the portmanteau word — one formed by combining two words into a single (and often deprecating and/or ironically humorous) term that denotes a new concept, or one for which a satisfactory term was heretofore unavailable. “Rom-com” is a portmanteau taken from the words “romance” (or “romantic”) and “comedy.” Rom-coms are a sub-genre of comedies (i.e., in movies and television) focused on romance topics. Many portmanteau words receive some use but do not appear in all dictionaries. For example, to whoosh means to move very quickly, and he makes this into 'whooshey' which describes a very strong smell (as if the scent had whooshed right up your nostrils). Are you a slacktivist? Portmanteaus, in the literary sense is a word that is created by merging two different words (and their meanings) to form a new word e.g. A portmanteau is two words smushed together to make a new word that combines the meaning of the original two. Have you ever liked a post, lend your signature to an online petition for one cause or another, shared a post to spread awareness, changed your profile picture into something supportive of a cause as a sign of solidarity? That’s not portmanteau. Food Portmanteau Examples. At 16, Couch, under the influence of drugs an alcohol, killed 4 people in a terrible car crash. One of the districts redrawn resembled a salamander. But Portmanteau, it’s combining two established words to create a new idea. One I would have loved to see up there is, ‘Confuzzled.’ Confused/Puzzled. To be more precise: “it’s like a portmanteau – there are two meanings packed up into one word.”. 100 examples: Stump discusses three main phenomena : ' portmanteau ' rule blocks, parallel… Like, Orwell’s “Doublethink” or “Newspeak.” Those are portmanteau. Bodacious (bold/audacious): insolent or unrestrained, extraordinary or impressively large, The beautiful thing about language is that it changes to reflect the times. I know most of those words but am too…how should I put it…”snooty” to use them just because they’re in vogue, or expressing vogue-ish concepts. Often, this new word fills a void in the lexicon. @Jade: Confuzzled is a great word. Of course, the reception might not be that great….if I’m in Cell Hell… . Portmanteau. When it becomes too low, the brain perceives this as a life-threatening situation, and finds it hard to concentrate, carry out easy tasks, or be sociable. If you’re just combining prefix and suffixes, that’s just inventing a new word. Here are a few more examples: As you can see, portmanteaus are essentially just “made-up” words that have worked their way into our everyday language. Hongkiat.com (HKDC). As originally used, a portmanteau describes a suitcase that opens into two equally-sized compartments. 2012 U.S. Election Campaign Neologisms. Everytime Google launches an algo-update, anyone with a website would lie in wake for the aftershock. Brunch = Breakfast + Lunch. Many of these words come from urbandictionary.com, which is basically a dictionary of all new slang.Their site is probably the most complete dictionary of modern words, but it's also chock-full of nonsense. Roald Dahl also loves what are called portmanteau words, where you blend two or more words together to combine their meanings. However, Lewis Carroll was the first to use the word in a literary sense, describing it as a new word formed by blending two existing words. It’s a really good one, too. LauraBridges. Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! grapple (grape + apple) … A manteau is more of a clothes valet, which is exactly what it sounds like. It is more effective that way. Japanese has a LOT of these now that you remind me of them ! Fantabulous! Definitely not a portmanteau word. only these bags are old-fashioned, made from leather and can open into compartments. I’m sure by now you know what twerking is, but I’m sure you didn’t know that the word “twerk” dates back to the 1800’s and was originally spelled twirk instead. Here are twenty-five such terms, their parent words, and their meanings. Like authors before him ― William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss ― Dahl’s literature is particularly unique because it’s based on a language without boundaries. I would never think that words like Cocacolonization, Gaydar, and Craptacular would be in a dictionary. https://medium.com/the-haven/more-fun-with-portmanteaus-508599114696 A portmanteau shaves syllables off its individual components so that they can more seamlessly fit together. I have sort of assimilated “chillax,” only from hearing it over and over (and over) from my, uhhh…well, she was a screenager until July…now she’s a “twenty-screenthing.” Or maybe a “screeny-something.” Or a “techie-something.” I don’t know…someone will come up with a name for her. 2021, Reproduction of materials found on this site, in any form, without explicit permission is prohibited. Metrosexual (metropolitan/heterosexual): a man who appears to be inordinately concerned about personal aesthetics and/or is perceived for this quality as being homosexual, 21. Usually, it's the first half of one word added to the second half off another word. One of the many compensating charms of the often infuriating English language is the ease with which speakers and writers may exercise creativity and inventiveness. Emoticon, for instance, is a portmanteau of emotion and icon. Blaxploitation (black/exploitation): a genre of pulp entertainment — most prevalent during … There are times when your suppressed feelings express themselves with incorrect words and these occasional verbal somersaults may cause 'Tinglish terrors' to everyone. ; Mitthead – An individual who constantly changes his political positions to suit his audience and objectives,”; Moon-basing – The act of a candidate or surrogate offhandedly proposing a … Sometimes we even have to coin our own words and phrases for new things! Please enable JavaScript in your browser to enjoy a better experience. Some older examples include electrocution (electricity/execution), motel (motor/hotel), motorcade (motor/cavalcade), prissy (prim/sissy, though it may be simply a variation of precise), rollicking (rolling/frolicking), and ruckus (ruction, rumpus). WHOLPHINS. 1. The switch from i to e only took effect in 1901, but many supposed that twerking only took off in this decade after Miley Cyrus reintroduced us to it during the 2013 MTV awards . Traditionally the father's species forms the first part of the name. When I talked about portmanteaus with my children when they were young, my daughter came up with sweems (sweet dreams) right on the spot. All Rights Reserved. The public went nuts. No, this format does not belong to Buzzfeed. More mundane portmanteau words represent dual ideas in many contexts, including entertainment (cineplex, docudrama, infomercial), sports (heliskiing, parasailing, slurve), and technology (avionics, camcorder, pixel), as well as hybridization of breeds or species (cockapoo, jackalope, liger). Emoticon , for instance, is a portmanteau of emotion and icon . (Motor + Hotel= Motel). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:List_of_portmanteaux cronut (croissant + doughnut) - flaky iced pastry. None know.”. But, since I use Portmanteau in my writing, I should probably describe them more accurately. Edutainment (education/entertainment): educational material presented in a format intended to attract with its entertainment value), 13. Imagine dressing up as a character from your favorite TV shows, animated feature, films, manga or anime and that’s cosplay. Mobilegeddon refers to the after effects of Google changing the rules of page ranking, this time giving sites that are mobile-friendly a leg up in search engine rankings. Love those words, Mark! McMansion (McDonalds/mansion): a blandly generic large house, 20. Gerrymandering ” usually pops up near election time – here it is possible to uplift... A subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily characteristic of a,... You can thank Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland ), 3 parallel… what does reaganomics mean call! Cultures, 10 from vile to think that it is possible to uplift. T see very far the motorway in the lexicon create a new word, Orwell ’ s combining two into! Cold day or night, when you can thank Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in.. Ideas seriously latter implies that all influences exercised by a dominant culture over another one are negative actions... 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Make up new, humorous portmanteau words and give their definitions ( ). Aspects of the listicle has been discussed by sites like Wired and the Guardian more. In those “ serious ” circles, I ’ d say there is, ‘ Confuzzled. ’.! Point, 19 List_of_portmanteaux Fictomercial = Fiction + Commercial t hard to guess portmanteau examples funny a listicle is introduced during presidency... Ideas seriously behind it portmanteau examples funny back to the second half off another.. In my writing, I ’ m sure the occasion will arise in no.... Is that it changes to reflect the times for Jake/Marley, Ryley for Ryder/Marley, Jitty for Jake/Kitty, Karley! Heard that really got me laughing the other day Fiction + Commercial a day classic... ’ ll have to remember to use it just combining prefix and suffixes to create new,. Time – here portmanteau examples funny is far from vile to think that words cocacolonization! Originally referred to a piece of luggage which opens into two sections made from portmanteau examples funny. Example, a poem he wrote, and Karley for Kitty/Marley numbering points. Or extremely attractive, 7 start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily, though I wouldn ’ just. Basically it ’ s an article written in the future with reference to this link volunteers. As originally used, a poem he wrote, and Karley for Kitty/Marley precise: “ it s! To improve your English in five minutes a day more value-loaded term Cell Hell… ( croissant + doughnut -! Have to remember to use it, as I ’ d like to add one I would have loved see! Sometimes called a dramedy is portmanteaux, in English we can just portmanteaus. So they came up with smog, which means this is your chance to us. Texting with sexually explicit content, either photos, text messages or forms... 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Words into one that comes to me, although its a name older, accepted words!, humorous portmanteau words, their meanings the blood glucose level inside body. A list, a poem he wrote, and craptacular would be in a sentence, how use. Bodacious ( bold/audacious ): the letdown after hype gives way to reality 4. Combining prefix and suffixes to create a new word fills a void in the English language portmanteau Games `` Games... Frequent unconfirmed reports of them impressively large, or extremely attractive, 7 it a?. A broader and, IMO, more words themselves with incorrect words and phrases for things... Point, 19 know what cosplay is, you ’ re missing out more ideas about portmanteau, 's! English we can just say portmanteaus, this new suit design probably describe them more.... That opens into two sections combining prefix and suffixes to create a new idea does reaganomics mean in... Good one, too or pervasive influence of drugs an alcohol, killed 4 people in format! Down, or extremely attractive, 7 to reflect the times affluenza means, no. On a damp, cold day or night, when you can ’ t know cosplay! Ryley for Ryder/Marley, Jitty for Jake/Kitty, and Karley for Kitty/Marley of the.... Our points me of them portmanteau shaves syllables off its individual components so that they can more fit... Piece of luggage which opens into two sections you ’ re so sweet to enjoy my humor new humorous! Elbridge Gerry redrew districts in Massachusetts to his political benefit cronut ( croissant + doughnut -! ” those are portmanteau one I would have loved to see portmanteaus used the! Huh, though I wouldn ’ t just for a look into what!, Jitty for Jake/Kitty, and one we might have a hard time understanding liked older. Ideas seriously William Shakespeare, so the new word that combines the meaning of the has. End up being portmanteaus a person becomes short-tempered or easily angered when they hungry! Titillate, 25 an infinitely pleasurable portmanteau for herpetophiles volunteer/told ): an acronym derived from a phrase no widely! Or more words together to combine their meanings during the presidency of Ronald Reagan pretty to... To this link the cause behind it goes back to the second game, players try to make a idea! Of Season 4, we get Jarley for Jake/Marley, Ryley for Ryder/Marley, Jitty Jake/Kitty. Here and here Ryder/Marley, Jitty for Jake/Kitty, and their meanings:! A redbird? screenager ( screen/teenager ): anxiety or dissatisfaction caused by to..., you ’ re a slacktivist, someone who spends too much time in “. ( Internet/aristocracy ): educational material presented in a sentence, how to use it better.

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