'Blog' - and other 'portmanteau' words like 'brunch' and 'Brexit'
A year to go until we get to 'Brexit' . . . And perhaps the only thing not in dispute when it comes to Brexit is the fact that word 'Brexit' (from Britain and exit) has become the most rapidly recognised portmanteau word in history and possibly the most universally recognised since 'brunch' (from breakfast and lunch) came in to being in 1897. A portmanteau is a large travelling bag, typically made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts, and a portmanteau word is one that combines the meaning of two others. Portmanteau words were pioneered by Lewis Carroll, who created 'chortle' (chuckle and snort) and 'galumph' (gallop and triumph), among others. As well as 'Brexit', other more recent portmanteau 'b' words include:
- blog, from web and log
- botox, from botulism and toxin
- Bennifer, from Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
- biopic, from biography and picture
- bootylicious, from booty and delicious
- Brangelina from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jol
- Britpop, from British and pop music
- bromance, from Bro (brother) and romance
- Bruceploitation, from Bruce Lee and exploitation
- brankster, from banker and gangster
- banofee, from banana and toffee
- bicurious, from bisexual and curious
- blaccent, from black and accent – used by non-blacks who try to sound black
- botel, from boat and hotel
- brainiac, from brain and maniac
- breathalyser, from breath and analyser
- burkini, from burka and bikini