What does nukulate mean in the following sentence from a question on Cooking SE?
Nukulate for 3 minutes on high.
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1 Answer
To nuke is to microwave. Nukulate is probably a more informal variant.
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2You think that nuculate is more informal than nuke? Nuke is already extremely informal. This is on a different axis, perhaps. Maybe nuculate is just a playful, tongue-in-cheekier kind of pseudo-formal formulation.– tchrist ♦Nov 15, 2012 at 1:39
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3@tchrist: To nuke (from nuclear bomb) has been around since the late 50s, so it's reasonably well established, if a little informal. Most likely this neologism is (facetiously or ignorantly) "backformed" from nuke. Thus it lacks both the status of age and of respectable parentage - sounds like "a more informal variant" to me. Nov 15, 2012 at 2:07
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2Interestingly enough, the word nucleate is also associated with microwave ovens. (If you are heating water in a container (such as a new, smooth cup) that does not provide a sufficient environment to allow nucleation to occur, the water may become superheated and erupt and boil over when you pick the cup up. Nov 15, 2012 at 2:14
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4I'm guessing it's an informal variant formed by a portmanteau of nuke + percolate.– J.R.Nov 15, 2012 at 4:06