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What are some uncommon but valid portmanteau words that people use?

Example: Turducken is a portmanteau of turkey, duck, and chicken or hen. People outside US are not familiar with this.

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5 Answers

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Here are a few that have entries in the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary:

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I really hate some of these words. Irrational, I know. But the word "dramedy" makes me feel violent. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Sep 15 '10 at 13:32
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@Mr. Shiny and New: you would have been a very sad panda in Soviet Russia, where every second word seemed to be "AgitProp", "ZamZavKhoz", "LenGosGorSelKhozSovet", "GlavMosVostMedPotrebMuzFabSredLechMashKultSoyuz", etc. (camel case mine, to highlight the structure). That stuff was everywhere, on the streets, on the radio, in schools, in books, in everyday speech. It completely got out of hand and degenerated into combining these morphemes in any way people deemed necessary. (Yes, I am exaggerating, but still.) – RegDwighт♦ Sep 15 '10 at 15:04
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@RegDwight: yes, that probably would have annoyed me. The more the portmanteau word is a marketing/propaganda word the more I hate it. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Sep 15 '10 at 18:29
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@RegDwight: Note: I also hate portmanteau names for Hollywood couples. Like "Bennifer". – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Sep 15 '10 at 18:29
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@cindi, not just a very uncommon spelling, but an out-and-out typographical error! (corrected, thanks) – nohat♦ Sep 29 '10 at 18:18
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Lewis Carrol made this into an art form. One of my favorites from "Alice in Wonderland" was "Frumious" it is a combination of "Fuming" and "Furious"

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Indeed, Lewis Carroll is the one who invented using the word portmanteau to describe such things. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau#Origin – nohat♦ Sep 29 '10 at 18:22
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spork

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Crocoduck

The crocoduck denotes an hybrid animal with the head a of crocodile and the body of a duck, which became recurrent in debates involving creationists and proponents of evolution, being used as a symbol directed at those who do not understand the basic principles of evolution.

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While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. – tchrist Aug 19 '12 at 4:45
@tchrist. Well, since the link is to a specific revision of a Wikipedia page, it's probably pretty safe, but I suppose there's no harm being on the safe side, so I've added a definition. – TRiG Aug 19 '12 at 10:20
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Webinar: web + seminar.

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protected by RegDwighт♦ May 19 '11 at 14:50

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