Literary Term #54: Portmanteau
Maybe you know what portmanteau is, and maybe you don’t. For those in the know: Congrats! For those not in the know, it’s the combination of two or more words to create a new word. So a portmanteau is a compound word, but not one that’s officially in the English language. In fact, ginormous was once a portmanteau, but it’s now in the dict
ionary.
Portmanteau is even fortunate to have a history behind it for you see, it was Lewis Carroll who coined it in “Through the Looking Glass.” The original quote is: “Well, slithy means lithe and slimy … You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.”
So here’s a challenge: create a portmanteau!

July 29th, 2007 at 9:48 am
ooer, create one? I’ll have to think for a while.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Awesber.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
small+cute=sute