Definition of Portmanteau Words in English

Definition of Portmanteau Words in English A portmanteau word is a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more other words. More formally known as a blend. The term portmanteau word  was coined by English writer Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). Later, in the preface to his nonsense poem  The Hunting of the Snark (1876), Carroll offered this explanation of Humpty-Dumptys theory of two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau: [T]ake the two words fuming and furious. Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever so little towards fuming, you will say fuming-furious; if they turn, by even a hairs breadth, towards furious, you will say furious-fuming; but if you have the rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say frumious. Examples and Observations: Brangelina (Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie)bromance (brother romance)Cronutâ„ ¢ (croissant doughnut)dramedy (drama comedy)Frankenfood (Frankenstein food)infomercial (information commercial)motel (motor hotel)netiquette (net etiquette)Oxbridge (Oxford Cambridge)pixel (pic element)quasar (quasi-stellar star)sexpert (sex expert)sexting (sex texting)smog (smoke fog)splatter (splash spatter)statusphere (status atmosphere)Tanzania (Tanganyika Zanzibar)telethon (television marathon)Viagravation (Viagra aggravation)A word formed by fusing elements of two other words, such as Lewis Carrolls slithy from slimy and lithe. He called such forms portmanteau words, because they were like a two-part portmanteau bag. Blending is related to abbreviation, derivation, and compounding, but distinct from them all.(Tom McArthur, Blend. The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992) The Sound Bites of Modern English [D]ancercise, simulcast, Frappuccino  -   they wear their meanings on their shortened sleeves. Portmanteau words are the sound bites of modern English, calculated to catch on the first time people hear them.(Geoffrey Nunberg, The Way We Talk Now. Houghton Mifflin, 2001)Smirting happens when two people, smoking outside, fall to flirting, and discover that they have more in common than simply nicotine. In Ireland, where the term originated after the ban in 2004, there is even evidence of non-smokers joining the smoky throng outside because the atmosphere there is more flirtatious.Smirting is a portmanteau word, formed by packing parts of two words together to create another, combining the sense of each.(Ben Macintyre, Ben Macintyre Celebrates the Portmanteau. The Times, May 2, 2008) Portmanteau Survivors:Dumbfound, Flabbergasted, Gerrymander Portmanteau words are frequently more whimsical than useful and dont survive, but many exist. ...  Dumbfound, from dumb and confound, was put together in the 17th century. Flabbergasted, one of the more contrived, is apparently an 18th-century blend of flabby and aghast. Gerrymander combines the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry and salamander, referring to the shape of a redistricted Massachusetts county. Anecdotage, adding the implication of dotage to anecdote, and Clifton Fadimans hullabalunacy from hullabaloo and lunacy, are clever enough to deserve survival.(Robert Gorrell, Watch Your Language!: Mother Tongue and Her Wayward Children. University of Nevada Press, 1994) Portmanteau Games Two games can be played with portmanteau words. In the first game, one player thinks of a portmanteau word and asks the next player to say which words are blended to create it. In the second game, players try to make up new, humorous portmanteau words and give their definitions. Thus you might blend the words hen and endurance to make hendurance, meaning the patience of a hen trying to hatch out an egg. Or you could blend the name of the dog Rin-tin-tin (who starred in films) and the word tintinnabulation to get Rin-tin-tintinnabulation: a very loud ringing of bells.(Tony Augarde, The Oxford A to Z of Word Games. Oxford University Press,1994) The Lighter Side of Portmanteau Words So a blog is a web log? Is there an apostrophe, or do you guys not even have the strength for that? You’re just going to jam two words together?(Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Feb. 2006)In her first tweet, [Sarah] Palin didnt write speak out; she used another term  -   refudiate. A few minutes later, the Tweet was rewritten with refudiate  -   which is not actually a word -   removed,  replaced by refute. ...The word caught someones attention, because a few hours later Palin refused to refute refudiate, she tweeted that shes just following in Shakespeares footsteps.Refudiate, misunderestimate, wee-weed up. English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!(Carolyn Kellogg, Wherefore Art Thou, Refudiate? Sarah Palin as Shakespeare. Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2010) Pronunciation: port-MAN-tow Also Known As: blend

Test your proofreading - Emphasis

Test your proofreading Test your proofreading Taking the time to proofread your writing whether its a letter, report, proposal or even just an email shouldnt be an optional extra. After all, it can mean the difference between sending Ill definitely be done by five and Ill defiantly be gone by five. But proofreading is a skill and it can take a bit of practice. So why not test your ability on our example? Simply copy and paste the text into the comment box below, and correct all of the mistakes. Well mark them on Friday, and send the five people who spot the most mistakes a free copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff. From: Anna Gooding To: All office staff Subject: The need for poofreading Hi eveyrbody As your probably aware, its become apparant that weve recently been sending out a lot of letters and emails wih an umber of typos in them Their is no excuse for this this and it really cant goon, as it makes us look utterley unprofessional. From now on, lets make sure that nothing is snet out with out first being proof read (this includes email.) To begin with, Id like to see how we get on checking each others work. If neccessary, we may look into some traning . If anyone has any question about this, please bring them up at the staff on meeting tuesday. Many Tanks Anna Test your proofreading Test your proofreading The proofreading competition is now closed. Taking the time to proofread your writing – whether it’s a letter, report, proposal or even just an email – shouldn’t be an optional extra. After all, it can mean the difference between sending ‘I’ll definitely be done by five’ and ‘I’ll defiantly be gone by five’. But proofreading is a skill and it can take a bit of practice. So why not test your ability on our example? Simply copy and paste the text into the comment box below, and correct all of the mistakes. We’ll mark them on Friday 7 October, and send the five people who spot the most mistakes a free copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff. From: Anna Gooding To: All office staff Subject: The need for poofreading Hi eveyrbody As your probably aware, it’s become apparant that weve recently been sending out a lot of letters and emails wih an umber of typo’s in them Their is no excuse for this this and it really can’t goon, as it makes us look utterley unprofessional. From now on, lets make sure that nothing is snet out with out first being proof read (this includes email.) To begin with, Id like to see how we get on checking each others work. If neccessary, we may look into some traning . If anyone has any question about this, please bring them up at the staff on meeting tuesday. Many Tanks Anna The proofreading competition is now closed. Thanks to all those who took part. The winners and the corrected email can be found here and our tips for better proofreading are here.

Test your proofreading - Emphasis

Test your proofreading Test your proofreading Taking the time to proofread your writing whether its a letter, report, proposal or even just an email shouldnt be an optional extra. After all, it can mean the difference between sending Ill definitely be done by five and Ill defiantly be gone by five. But proofreading is a skill and it can take a bit of practice. So why not test your ability on our example? Simply copy and paste the text into the comment box below, and correct all of the mistakes. Well mark them on Friday, and send the five people who spot the most mistakes a free copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff. From: Anna Gooding To: All office staff Subject: The need for poofreading Hi eveyrbody As your probably aware, its become apparant that weve recently been sending out a lot of letters and emails wih an umber of typos in them Their is no excuse for this this and it really cant goon, as it makes us look utterley unprofessional. From now on, lets make sure that nothing is snet out with out first being proof read (this includes email.) To begin with, Id like to see how we get on checking each others work. If neccessary, we may look into some traning . If anyone has any question about this, please bring them up at the staff on meeting tuesday. Many Tanks Anna Test your proofreading Test your proofreading The proofreading competition is now closed. Taking the time to proofread your writing – whether it’s a letter, report, proposal or even just an email – shouldn’t be an optional extra. After all, it can mean the difference between sending ‘I’ll definitely be done by five’ and ‘I’ll defiantly be gone by five’. But proofreading is a skill and it can take a bit of practice. So why not test your ability on our example? Simply copy and paste the text into the comment box below, and correct all of the mistakes. We’ll mark them on Friday 7 October, and send the five people who spot the most mistakes a free copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff. From: Anna Gooding To: All office staff Subject: The need for poofreading Hi eveyrbody As your probably aware, it’s become apparant that weve recently been sending out a lot of letters and emails wih an umber of typo’s in them Their is no excuse for this this and it really can’t goon, as it makes us look utterley unprofessional. From now on, lets make sure that nothing is snet out with out first being proof read (this includes email.) To begin with, Id like to see how we get on checking each others work. If neccessary, we may look into some traning . If anyone has any question about this, please bring them up at the staff on meeting tuesday. Many Tanks Anna The proofreading competition is now closed. Thanks to all those who took part. The winners and the corrected email can be found here and our tips for better proofreading are here.

History (Biography Reviews) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History (Biography Reviews) - Essay Example In describing his earlier campaigns, I have had recourse to much fuller material than in the latter portions. The reports of many subordinate commanders, Union and Confederate, have been published, and there are even critical commentaries upon these, which guard the historian against error. 1 The book gives presents only the military career of Grant although there are some parts that touch upon his personal life such as Chapter II which gives a background of his childhood and Cadet Life. Somehow, there is a good rationale for covering only Grant’s exploits since he is a very private person . Although there are times where his ethics have been questioned, that has happened after the war. Like any individual who has been popular, there is always an inclination for politics. The book’s sequence of events is arranged chronologically with the sequence of events beginning with the start of the war. However, the author’s main purpose was not really to go into much detail of the war as expressed in the Preface. His writings were mainly focused on the plans made by the General, the way the plan was executed as well as the results of his campaign. Perhaps, the author’s motive is to show the readers the General’s plans and his achievements. Unfortunately, the author cannot discuss completely the topics without getting into many details such as dates and names of people involved. The book was almost a journal that reported the daily battles of the subject. This makes the biography very authentic since it was written during the time that it happened. Moreover, the author personally knew the subject which makes the book a good primary source. The author’s main point of view is that Grant was a successful General as he said â€Å"Grant is the first soldier of the age, and the most distinguished American of the Regenerated Republic†2 . The biography is recommended for readers who are interested in a detailed narration of military

Coca Cola Buy, Sell or Hold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Coca Cola Buy, Sell or Hold - Essay Example the year 1886, but even though John had great pharmaceutical capabilities, he lacked marketing skills due to which he was not able to create the kind of hype of this non – alcoholic drink as we know today, thus realising Coca Cola as a remarkable and an extraordinary product Asa Candler purchased the formula and the Coca Cola brand from John realising this as the perfect business opportunity. Candler was born in Georgia and had great motivational capabilities, prior to purchasing Coca Cola he was a pharmacist and had purchased this soon to be the most renowned brand - name for just $2,300. And not long after that he became a millionaire and became to be known as one of the top most business tycoons in the United States. He was also elected as the Mayor of Atlanta in 1916 just when he retired from Coca Cola. The most amazing performance of his management skills were displayed when he successfully launched his marketing campaign and distribution channel for the Coca Cola brand name. He decided that it was best to only create the raw soft drink and instead of appointing the company’s executives to market the product the company would appoint various bottling plants as their ‘C & F’ or Carrying and Forwarding agents. The strategy was a success since the early launch and this marketing strategy boosted the sales of Coca – Cola not only in America but throughout the whole wide world. Even today the Coca Cola Company administers its marketing operations in the same way, although with minor adjustments, such as they purchase most of the stake in most of the bottling plants to remain in power. Coca – Cola is the most renowned brand name through out the whole world with an established market base in over 200 countries and in possibly every corner of this world. But recognition has its shortcomings, and one of the negative sides of recognition is that it brings controversies along with it. This is especially true in case of the Coca – Cola Company; it is a

Ivan Ilyitch and Wasted Lives Essay Example for Free

Ivan Ilyitch and Wasted Lives Essay The stories dealt with in this paper seek happiness in the wrong places. They stress the failures of modern life, the falsity of success and the elusiveness of happiness when it is not grounded in virtue. Virtuous and simple living are the last things to be discussed in these stories, but happiness is searched for according to the easiest and most sensual manners possible. Modern society has failed to bring happiness and fulfillment, and these stories speak as to why. What is terrible about modern life is the definitions of happiness and fulfillment based on money and social standing. It is roundly condemned by journalists and moralists, but remains as powerful as ever as motivating factors in behavior. In Tolstoy’s famous Death of Ivan Ilyitch, the film’s hero, Ivan, is a lawyer, a member of the prestigious judicial council (127) who has recently taken ill, as lies in his last few hours considering his life. His main concern throughout his life is what Tolstoy calls comme il faut, that is, the maintaining of appearances regardless of circumstances. Even his marriage was based on social standing and on the opinions of high society, rather than love (130). In â€Å"The Necklace,† the young woman wants the necklace that nearly destroys their life solely so that she will look like a successful person at the party given by the Ministry of Education. It ends in disaster as the necklace is lost. After being passed over for several promotions, Ivan was sent to a remote outpost in â€Å"the country,† where he quickly fell into boredom and ennui. He then left his family to go back to his Petrograd post, because high society is the only place he felt comfortable. His social cues came from that society. After falling while decorating his house–decorating solely for the approbation of the same society–he developed what appears to be cancer, and quickly died, mirroring the life and death of Aurora in Terms. The will cannot bring happiness and human life often has a rhythm of its own that cannot be controlled by the state, social institutions or an overprotective mother. It is in this interval that he meets Gerasim, a simple peasant without pretense or guile, the opposite of Ivan (148). Gerasim was Ivan’s assistant when he was ill. Gerasim cared not for society, but for the simple hard work that typified the peasant. He was a â€Å"natural† man rather than Ivan, the â€Å"artificial† one. But in Chapter IX is where a â€Å"voice† begins to speak to Ivan, speaking to him about life. Happiness is based on simplicity, not on the worship of the status quo and the domination of social norms. The artificial world of high society was not joyous, but merely a set of obligations. â€Å"And that deadly official life, and anxiety about money and so for one year, and two, and ten, and twenty, always the same thing† (157). But this was the life of success, of high society, of the elite: and it failed to make Ivan happy. The move from childhood, with its simple joys, to that artificial world of elite adulthood was correlated with the falsity of his happiness and the deadening of joy. This is also to be seen in â€Å"Araby,† where children are the only ones left with imagination as they come of age. The complex and hypocritical world of high society deadened him and his life. This story about a dying man looking at his life seems to be well read, but never heeded. Ivan is all of us who equate success with money and social standing, who view childhood as â€Å"trivial† and the approbation of institutions as central. Ivan conformed his entire life, from his marriage to political views, around what was dominant in high society. In this process, he was successful, but not happy. If anything, the two concepts exist in an inverse relation. Success in modern life is not a happy life. It is unhappy because ultimately, it is one set of obligations after another. Money is always a problem–investments, the market, inflation, taxes, economic cycles all contribute to the anxiety of all but the most wealthy of moderns. Social life, as in Ivan, is a bore, with a set round of obligatory social relations and gatherings, all of which seem to set the â€Å"success† class apart from the commoners. But Ivan, through the example of Gerasim, sees that the simple peasant, the agriculturalist, without the social obligations of the Petrograd lawyer, is happy, joyful and finds a great deal of satisfaction in labor and its invigorating aspects so common in farm work. But labor, in modern life, is something to be avoided rather than embraced and farm work is seen as â€Å"backward† in the prejudice of moderns. In the film Terms of Endearment, the parallels are subtle, but present. Aurora is the protective mother, always concerned for the ultimate happiness of her daughter, Emma. Once’s Emma’s first romance fails, and Aurora seems pushed out of her life, the latter finds romantic comfort with a married, â€Å"successful† man, a banker, Sam Burns. At the same time, Aurora, after remaining sexless for many years, has a whirlwind relationship with an ex-astronaut, Garrett Breedlove. It is hard to see the placement of the false society here, as is the case with The Necklace and A Good Man. Both Emma and her mother live within the false society of modern life, believing that sex and finding the â€Å"right† man will bring happiness. Virtue is not mentioned, nor the life of the mind, but happiness is defined solely in respect of an other, a romantic, sexual relationship that is supposed to make people happy. Both characters, Aurora and Emma, are trapped and the free sex that exists throughout the movie is a conformist device, not a rebellious one. If anything, the fact that Aurora dies of cancer tells her that happiness cannot be found in this life, for even if Aurora was right all along, and Emma was her best friend, she still would have died a miserable death. Having sex with the drunken Breedlove has changed nothing. This film seems to be a set of negative examples: overprotection does not lead to protected children, and sex does not lead to happiness, nor does romance. If anything, it is a veiled attack on the modern obsession with the sexually carnal, that promises pleasure and happiness but usually ends with emptiness. Such is also the final scene in â€Å"Araby,† where the fair itself, symbolizing all sexual and sensual, is a disappointment. The build up the young boy has created in himself was far too high for actual reality. Sex is modern life is often considered this Holy Grail of acceptance that often leads to disappointment. The Necklace, a short story by Guy de Maupassant, has far more parallels with Tolstoy than Terms. The single reality is that the necklace is part of the world of falsity within which Ivan and his ilk live. The very fact that the necklace itself is a cheap fake is part of the scheme–it matters not if the object is genuine, it does its job of making the world think that you belong and that you’re part of the â€Å"successful† club. The obligation that Ivan finds in his life is mirrored in the couple’s having to work for a decade to repay the alleged price of the genuine necklace, which never even existed. The necklace is the ultimate attack on the falsity of â€Å"successful† life–the necklace exists solely to convince others of something, but it is not even real. At the same time, the labor that has gone into paying for the non-existent real necklace speaks of the waste and profligacy of the wealthy, who normally pay huge sums for such trinkets, and call it happiness or success. The young boy in â€Å"Araby† though that his love interest and the fair at Araby would provide this. All these sorts of things provide is emptiness. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a far more subtle work, centering around a self-centered grandmother that speaks of The Misfit, a killer who is allegedly making his way though to Florida, where her family wants to go on vacation. The family eventually makes their way to Tennessee where, in an accident caused by a hidden cat, the disabled car is sat upon by the Misfit and his group, who eventually murders the entire family when the grandmother yells out that the Misfit is here, hence, necessitating the Misfit’s murder of his identifiers. There is a hint that the Misfit is in fact the grandmother’s son, and the grandmother, possibly attempting to save her own life, attempts to calm of Misfit by touching him, which leads to a scene where the murderer hesitates, but soon steps back to shoot her. It seems that Terms and Good man are highly parallel, showing an overprotective parent seeking happiness in all the wrong places. Where The Necklace and Ivan are centered around the concept of falsity and the lies and hypocracy of modern life and its arbitrary definition of â€Å"success. † All four are concerned with happiness broadly speaking, but only Tolstoy holds out the hope for any real happiness, a happiness that can only be gained by simplicity and a return to the land. Modern behaviors cannot understand this.

My Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy on Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education Norms and values are a reflection of society’s standards of behavior. Since society evolves from each generational perspective, the â€Å"norm† is continuously changing. As a result, the rising adults have a grave influence on how the world will evolve into the next generation. What we teach our students today will reflect the success of our future. How we, as teachers, get our messages across will definitely influence the student’s ability to apply that knowledge. From my experiences and what I have encountered I intend to incorporate the Pragmatic and Idealistic philosophies into my classroom, based on my predictions on how to be a successful teacher. The Pragmatic approach to education involves placing the students as a number one priority. This type of classroom environment would give the child an opportunity to make decisions, which is a crucial part of living a successful life in today’s societies. I would provide a classroom with a helpful and productive atmosphere. This would transform the classroom into a community of learners. This would give the children hands on experience with a project that needed solutions and the idea of how important â€Å"team work† can help in solving difficult situations. Students in my eyes will absorb a greater amount of material if they are actively involved in its processes. I concede with the theories of social reconstructionism in that I truly feel that in order to make a group successful, each individual that is apart of that group must be successful. This idea promotes human growth and development with the incorporation of flexibility in a student’s educatio n. This flexibility will help the student deal with and be able to overcome conflicts within t... ...cation pole, and I believe that the Idealism approach should also be incorporated into the classroom. There is no right or definite way to do anything; this should be kept in mind while performing any task. I feel like focusing on children and being a positive influence does nothing but benefit the child and the future of our world. That after all is what teaching is about, providing the tools to keep the world running. I think sometimes the foundation of teaching is repressed in the minds of teachers, do to the overload of stipulations placed on them daily. Whom are we really hurting here? The children are the ones who suffer. If the children stay as the focus in each classroom and are positively influenced by the teacher then education, what it truly means, will be reached. I plan to incorporate all of this into my everyday classroom. I hope others do to.