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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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A chum in West Seattle reports that his daughter bought a pair of scoodles -- dogs which are the product of crossing a Scottie with a poodle. This seems (a) a terrible thing to do to either breed of dog and (b) a further pollution of the language with silly new words.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, hey, they're just dogs. What worse could happen to them? And you got something against portmanteau words?
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
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Ack--I can't decide if that's worse that peek-a-poo (sp?) or not.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Portmanteau words are useful, particularly if the coiner/user is attempting to be tongue-in-cheek funny, but less so in serious discourse. The person who coined the synonym for them -- frankenword -- did a good thing.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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tongue-in-cheek funny
Keep your tongue firmly in your cheek next time there's a smog alert.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"Smog" is a good example of a Frankenword. Others are "spork" (spoon + fork) meaning a runcible spoon and "skort" (skirt + shorts) meaning a wrap-around skirt with short legs.
The problem with giving in to portmanteau words like "smog" is that it is a short slide down the slippery slope to words like "snizzle" (snow + drizzle) and "clumid" (cloudy + humid).
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journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 72 |
Snizzle? OK, Father Snoop Dog.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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There is also someone trying to get recognition for the "new breed" of Labradoodles. Originally bred for the serious purpose of providing a guide dog for a woman with severe dog allergies since poodles are non allergenic. Hard to take seriously with that name though.
Some frankenwords do describe a combination of things that is different than the sum of its parts. Like smog - it is neither smoke nor fog. Brunch too is so much more than a combination of breakfast and lunch. What I object to is the making up of cute combinations for things that don't need a word of there own. A piece of bread and cheese at 3:30 is a snack not a lupper.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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One of the oldest breeds of dogs is the white dog with black spots bred for German stage performances. The Dalmatian of Faust.
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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