10 whimsical words coined by Lewis Carroll
theweek.com
10 whimsical words coined by Lewis Carroll
Our highly networked and complex world has given rise to the need for new, hybrid words. As a result, portmanteaus—a linguistic mash-up of two words that means “a large trunk opening in two equal parts” in French—have become a modern necessity. Portmanteaus are not new; Lewis Carroll popularized the use of the term in his book Through the Looking G
... See moreLMD Agency • I Love You So, Portmanteau!
As awful as all this is, the workarounds themselves are often delightful and clever, testaments to the wit and grace of marginalized communities. For example, sex-workers call themselves "accountants." Homophobia is called "cornucopia" and "LGBTQ" becomes "Leg Booty."
This creativity isn't limited to people I admire or agree with: anti-vaxers have a... See more
This creativity isn't limited to people I admire or agree with: anti-vaxers have a... See more
Cory Doctorow • Pluralistic: 11 Apr 2022 – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
Literature allows us to name the world by giving us new phrases, new characters, new words. Poets like Chaucer and Shakespeare coined hundreds of new words. So many of their phrases are still used in common speech. They named all sorts of things for us. And by using those names, we expand what we can understand about the world.
Henry Oliver • Notes Towards an Applied Literature
Wallace spelunked the OED and fearlessly neologized, nouning verbs, verbing nouns, creating less a novel of language than a brand-new lexicographical reality.
David Foster Wallace • Infinite Jest
He invented words as if creating tools for entirely new purposes.