Monday, June 5, 2023

Portmanteaux

Portmanteau is derived from the word for a French two-part suitcase. It combines the words porte, which means "to carry," and manteau, meaning "cloak." Like the suitcase, a portmanteau word holds or carries the meaning of two or more words. 

A few of my favorites (some real and some invented)

slithy, from lithe and slimy;

chortle, from chuckle and snort,

slimsy from slim and flimsy.

birl (birr + whirl),

scrooch (crouch +hunch),

scuzzy (scum + fuzzy),

ginormous (gigantic and enormous),

bodacious (bold + audacious),

splotch (spot, blot, and blotch),

blotch (blot and botch),

meld (melt + weld),

splurge (splash and surge),

squiggle (squirm +wriggle),

gawp (gape + gawk – Bill Bryson),

mingy (mean + stingy),

wodge (wad+ wedge)

minify (minimum + magnify),

ditsy (dotty + dizzy),

judder (jerk + shudder),

judgmatic (judg(ment) + (dog)matic,

jalopidated,  (jalopy and dilapidated),

titivate (tidy + elevate),

twiddle (twist + fiddle),

bathetic (bathos + pathetic),

slurb (slum or slovenly + suburb),

bumble (bungle + stumble),

bumboozle (bamboozle + fuddle + fuzzy),

bumptious (bump + presumptious),

galumph (gallop + triumph),

 [Katy: flustrated, insinuendo],

peasely (piddly + measly),

compliable (complacent + pliable),

blistery (blustery + wintry),

thin & bones,

explursion (explosion + splurge),

onomatic (on +automatic),

frizzling [bacon] (fry + sizzling),

fleckled (fleck + speckled),

realable (real + believable),

tinch (titch + pinch),

slunch (slouch + hunch),

(and from Maureen) incringing (infringe + cringe +impinge)

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