When Lewis Carroll first used the word ‘Slithy’ (lithe+slimy) in Through the Looking Glass, he wouldn’t have imagined that in future, it will give rise to an entirely new genre in English vocabulary i.e. portmanteau words. A portmanteau word is formed by amalgamating two different terms to create a new meaning, for instance, ‘Brunch’ which is combination of Breakfast + Lunch. Now, think about the number of words you would be using for the replacement of Brunch! Wouldn’t it had consumed a couple of minutes to explain? Portmanteaus can be boring or funny, but in both ways, they have become an indispensable part of our dictionary to convey certain messages and emotions.
The more interesting thing about portmanteaus is that new words keep bubbling up in urban dictionary and even you can make one by yourself!
In this post, let us start ‘unlightening’ and learn some funny portmanteau words.
Emoticons
What constitutes the word – EMOTION + ICON
In the era of smartphones and tablets, there are perhaps more emoticons than human moods. Feeling angry, blessed, happy, surprised or any other sentiment, just send the perfect emoticon, and the receiver will instantly understand your mood. However, did you even know that ‘Emoticons’ is made of emotion and icon!
Crunk
What constitutes the word – CRAZY/CHRONIC/CRACK + DRUNK
Next time, when you see a drunk person going nuts, you have perfect word to describe them i.e. crunk. Let’s go crunk over this!
Spork
What constitutes the word – SPOON + FORK
Thank god for inventing both – the useful product that combines spoon as well as a fork and the word itself. Now we don’t need spoons, forks, chopsticks and so many more tools to finish the meal. A single spork is enough.
Turducken
What constitutes the word – TURKEY + DUCK + CHICKEN
Have you ever heard of the challenging dish prepared by turkey stuffed with duck inside and at the same time duck stuffed with chicken inside! Yes, you heard it right. Hats off to the first person who even thought of cooking this exotic dish and thanks to the person who invented the work Turducken to explain this dish.
Badvertising
What constitutes the word – BAD + ADVERTISING
While watching the TV, every day we come by so many fugly advertisements which make us think..why the hell on this earth I am watching this? But many times, it is simply badvertising.
Jorts
What constitutes the word – JEANS + SHORTS
You are tired of wearing jeans. You are even more tired of shorts. It is time to slip-on jorts. Don’t think that jeans which are cut short are called jorts. They have been invented at the same time when denim was.
Conclusion – There are many more portmanteau words that are rapidly getting included in urban English dictionary, and we have a lot of them in our kitty as we spend full time in translation services. From notary translation services to legal translation, we cover every type. For any assistance in translation, call us at 888-670-3369.