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NEOLOGISM

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly Neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.
And the winners are:

1. Coffee (n.): the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.): appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.): to give up all hope of  ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.): to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.):  impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.): describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.): to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n): olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.): emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.): a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.): a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.): the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon  (n): a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.): a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.): (back by popular demand): The belief that, when  you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16.  Circumvent (n.): an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post’s Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and then supply a new definition. Here are this year’s winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

3. Cashtration   (n.): The act of buying a  house, which renders the subject  financially impotent for an indefinite period.

4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

9. Karmageddon (n): Its like, when  everybody is sending off all  these really bad vibes, right?  And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s, like, a serious bummer.

10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

11.Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.

14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in  the fruit you’re eating.

Thanks to Lauren for contributing these.

One Comment

  1. Marcia says:

    I was so surprised to find such wit in these neologisms! I laughed out loud all by myself at my computer. Thank you so much for putting such a belly laugh in my day. I really believe in the power of laughter to heal on all levels. I have been a caregiver for both my parents before they passed and my 2 children (gifted and very challenging), all the while dealing with several chronic illnesses of my own. Needless to say that my life has been a very complicated one and I have done some very heavy soul searching.

    Dan was my solace and comfort through the worst of it as was my faith in all the wondrous spirituality he spoke of. I came to understand for myself the meaning of his words and have learned so much from absorbing, accepting and letting go of my challenges and fears. Dan’s words touched a place do deep within my soul that it became an anchor and a balm…….always there and ever on.

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