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Portmanteau Words

bottle of port wine   man in purple suit   big toe with googly eyes         two crossed swords   minus sign S

No. of Players: 2+
Type of Game: spoken
What you need: nothing

Goal

To guess the origins of portmanteau words, or to make new ones.

How to play

A portmanteau word is a word that blends the sounds of, and combines the meanings of, two other words. For instance, anklet is a portmanteau word since it blends the words ankle and bracelet. Players think of portmanteau words and then challenge each other to identify their origins by naming the two words which are blended to create it. Alternatively, players can entertain each other by creating new portmanteau words and then giving their definitions and origins.

Examples

Actual portmanteau words:

smog = smoke + fog
fanzine = fan + magazine
spork = spoon + fork
cineplex = cinema + complex
motel = motor + hotel
brunch = breakfast + lunch
camcorder = camera + recorder
infomercial = information + commercial

Fun portmanteau words:

cellfish = cell phone + selfish
    (inconsiderate mobile phone user)
     
sleeprived = sleep + deprived
    (dulled wakefulness due to insufficient sleep)
     
chillax = chill + relax
    (calm down)
     
fough = fake + cough
    (sound made by a healthy person when calling into work sick)
     
frenemy = friend + enemy
    (a supposed friend who acts more like a foe)
     
clady = cat + lady
    (older woman obsessively devoted to her many feline pets)
     
ginormous = gigantic + enormous
    (something really big)
     
frankenfood = Frankenstein + food
    (genetically modified food)
affluenza = affluence + influenza
     
alphanumeric = alphabetic + numeric
     
animatronics = animation + electronics
     
anklet = ankle + bracelet
     
armlet = arm + anklet
     
bash = bang + smash
     
biometric = biological + metric
     
biopic = biography + picture
     
blurple = blue + purple
     
Bollywood = Bombay + Hollywood
     
Botox = botulism + toxin
     
brainiac = brain + maniac
     
breathalyzer = breath + analyzer
     
Brexit = Britain + exit
     
bromance = brother + romance
     
carjack = car + hijack
     
cellophane = cellulose + diaphane
     
cheeseburger = cheese + hamburger
     
chocoholic = chocolate + alcoholic
     
chortle = chuck + snort
     
Chunnel = Channel + Tunnel
     
cosplay = costume + roleplay
     
cyborg = cybernetic + organism
     
docudrama = documentary + drama
     
docuseries = documentary + series
     
dumbfounded = dumb + confounded
     
electrocute = electricity + execute
     
email = electronic + mail
     
emoticon = emotion + icon
     
endorphine = endogeous + morphine
     
fantabulous = fantastic + fabulous
     
fortnight = fourteen + night
     
frappuccino = frappe + cappucino
     
freeware = free + software
     
funtastic = fun + fantastic
     
gerrymander = Gerry + salamander
     
glitz = glamour + ritz
     
groupon = group + coupon
     
guesstimate = guess + estimate
     
handicapable = handicapped + capable
     
happenstance = happening + circumstance
     
hazmat = hazardous + material
     
infotainment = information + entertainment
     
intercom = internal + communication
     
internet = interconnected + network
     
Juneteenth = June + nineteenth
     
knowledgebase = knowledge + database
     
labradoodle = labrador + poodle
     
malware = malicious + software
     
mansplaining = man + explaining
     
Medicare = medical + care
     
metaverse = meta + universe
     
mocktail = mock + cocktail
     
mockumentary = mock + documentary
     
modem = modulator + demodulator
     
moped = motor + pedal
     
motorcross = motorcycle + cross-country
     
motorcycle = motorized + bicycle
     
multiplex = multiple + complex
     
muppet = marionette + puppet
     
netiquette = network + etiquette
     
netizen = internet + citizen
     
newscast = news + broadcast
     
Obamacare = Obama + healthcare
     
paralympics = parallel + olympics
     
parasailing = parachute + sailing
     
paratrooper = parachute + trooper
     
permafrost = permanent + frost
     
Pictionary = picture + dictionary
     
pixel = picture + element
     
podcast = iPod + broadcast
     
Pokémon = pocket + monsters
     
popsicle = pop + icicle
     
Reagonomics = Reagan + economics
     
romcom = romance + comedy
     
screenshot = screen + snapshot
     
seascape = sea + landscape
     
shopaholic = shop + alcoholic
     
sitcom = situational + comedy
     
snarky = snide + remark
     
snazzy = snappy + jazzy
     
Spanglish = Spanish + English
     
splatter = splash + spatter
     
spoodle = spoon + ladle
     
squander = squash + wander
     
squiggle = squirm + wiggle
     
stash = store + cache
     
staycation = stay + vacation
     
telemarketing = telephone + marketing
     
telethon = television + marathon
     
televangelist = television + evangelist
     
threepeat = three + repeat
     
tofurky = tofu + turkey
     
transponder = transmitter + responder
     
twirl = twist + whirl
     
vlog = video + log
     
webinar = web + seminar
     
webisode = web + episode
     
widget = window + gadget
     
workaholic = work + alcoholic

Did you know?

The word portmanteau is actually a portmanteau word. It is made by combining two French words: porter ("to carry") and manteau ("cloak").

Alice in Wonderland reading book to Cheshire Cat

Portmanteaus were first used by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 book Through the Looking-Glass. In it, Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice how slithy means "lithe and slimy" and mimsy is "flimsy and miserable."

"You see it's like a portmanteau — there are two meanings packed up into one word."

However, the word itself was actually in use a full three centuries before this time. Back in the 1580s, people commonly used portmanteau to refer to a "flexible traveling case for clothes and other necessities" (deriving from the Middle French word portemanteau meaning "traveling bag," and originally in the 1540s to refer to "a court official who carried a prince's mantle or cloak").

gladstone portmanteau suitcase

Traditionally, portmanteau suitcases had a rigid frame with a leather exterior and opened into two equal parts. A keen eye can still spot them today in the lobbies of historic hotels. But their use by the general public has greatly diminished from their heyday, at the turn of the last century, when the Gladstone bag – a small, easily carried portmanteau – was all the rage.

In case you're wondering, the images under the title of this word game form a rebus puzzle:

PORT + MAN + TOE + SWORDS - S = PORTMANTEAU WORDS

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