‘Taffia’: meaning and origin
UK, 1974—applied jocularly to any supposed network of prominent or influential Welsh people, especially one which is strongly nationalistic—a blend of ‘Taffy’, denoting a Welshman, and ‘Mafia’
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‘Corrupticut’: meaning and origin
derisive, derogatory nickname for the U.S. State of Connecticut—a blend of the adjective ‘corrupt’ and of the name ‘Connecticut’—first appeared in 2003 in reference to a series of corruption scandals involving public officials
Read More‘chillax’: meaning and origin(s)
to calm down and relax—a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘relax’—however, explained in 1992 as a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘max’ (to lounge, i.e., to lie, sit or stand in a relaxed or lazy way)
Read More‘breastaurant’: meanings and origin
USA, 1966—a restaurant that features scantily-clad waitresses—especially associated with the restaurant chain Hooters—also: a woman who breastfeeds, or the breast of a woman who breastfeeds
Read More‘bark mitzvah’: meaning and origin
USA, 1966—a (13th-birthday) party held for a dog—a blend of ‘bark’ (the sharp explosive cry of a dog), and of ‘bar mitzvah’ (the coming-of-age ceremony for a 13-year-old Jewish boy), or ‘bat mitzvah’ (the equivalent ceremony for a Jewish girl)
Read More‘flexitarian’: meaning and origin
USA, 1992 (1981?)—adjective: primarily but not strictly vegetarian—noun: a person who follows a primarily but not strictly vegetarian diet—a blend of ‘flexible’ and ‘vegetarian’
Read More‘contronym’: meaning and origin
a word with two opposite or contradictory meanings—coined by Jack Herring in 1962—Joseph T. Shipley had developed the same notion in Playing With Words (1960); he called it ‘autantonym’
Read More‘dadchelor party’: meaning and origin
USA, 2009—a party given for a man who is about to become a father, attended by men only—‘dadchelor’: a blend of ‘dad’ (i.e., ‘father’) and of ‘bachelor’ in ‘bachelor party’ (a party given for a man who is about to get married, attended by men only)
Read More‘swellegant’: meaning and origin
USA, 1901—wonderfully stylish, elegant or fashionable—a blend of ‘swell’ and ‘elegant’—popularised by its use in the song Well, Did You Evah!, interpreted by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the 1956 film High Society
Read More‘bullamacow’: meanings and origin
islands of the South Pacific, 1881—cattle, beef, and, by extension, meat of any kind and tinned meat—a combination of the nouns ‘bull’ and ‘cow’
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word histories 