STUNT WORD
STUNT WORD. An informal term for a WORD created and used to produce a special effect or attract attention, as if it were part of the performance of a stunt man or a conjuror. Stunt words used to exhibit and practise spelling patterns are a feature of the children's books of Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr Seuss): ‘Did you ever have the feeling, / there's a WASKET in your BASKET? / … Or a NUREAU in your BUREAU? / … Or a WOSET in your CLOSET?’ (from There's a Wocket in my Pocket!, 1974). The preceding example derives from the work of an individual. Many stunt formations can, however, be the outcome of group effort, as for example forms based on the letters y–p (standing for ‘young professional’), particularly fashionable in marketing and media circles in the 1980s, such as: yuppie (young urban professional), yumpie (young upwardly mobile professional), yap (young aspiring professional), mumpie (Malaysian yumpie), McYuppie (Scottish yuppie), and yuckie (a yuppie who makes you sick). Compare BUZZ WORD, NEOLOGISM, NONCE WORD, NONSENSE.
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Word , WORD
WORD A fundamental term in both the general and technical discussion of language. The following selection of primary definitions of word is draw… Loanword , LOANWORD, also loan-word, loan word. A WORD taken into one language from another: in English, garage from French, leitmotif from German. Such words a… Keyword , KEYWORD, also key word.
1. A WORD that serves as a crucial (‘key’) element in a usage, phrase, sentence, text, subject, concept, theory, or language:… Buzzword , BUZZWORD, also buzz word. An informal term for a word that is fashionable and used more to impress than inform: for example, power with the sense ‘pe… Catchword , catch·word / ˈkachˌwərd; ˈkech-/ • n. 1. a briefly popular or fashionable word or phrase used to encapsulate a particular concept: “motivation” is a… Abbreviation , ABBREVIATION The shortening of words and phrases (kilogram to kg, Imperial Chemical Industries to ICI) and a result of such shortening (MA for Master…
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STUNT WORD