Portmanteau Words

Portmanteau Words

Two, two, two words in one!
Contest ended 7 years ago 3/18/2005 12:00:00 AM EDT

Contest Info

  • Cost: 2 credits
  • Jackpot: 50 credits

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Within his classic story "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There", Lewis Carroll devised a style of merging two words to form a new word. He dubbed them "portmanteau words".

Some of the more famous words from Carroll's poem, 'Jabberwocky', are:
slithy = lithe + slimy
mimsy = miserable + flimsy
galumphing = galloping + triumphing

Some Portmanteau words have even become commonly used, like "chortle" (chuckle + snort). They're nonsense words, really. But they're so useful, so adroit at expressing two ideas at once, that they continue to crop up, and frequently enter everyday language:

spork = spoon + fork
squiggle = squirm + wiggle
motel = motor(car) + hotel
brunch = breakfast + lunch

The rules of the game are thus: create a new, original word by combining two words in a humorous way that conveys the meaning of both words at once. One Portmanteau word per entry, please. Include a "word + word = ?" clue in your entry, so we can all enjoy how witty it is. Remember, profanity is not acceptable, keep it clean. As always, quality is a must. We will remove poor entries no matter how much we like you. You'll have 3 days for this contest, so make your entry count.

 
 

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