When In Doubt...Make It Up!

Last night I went to a premiere reading of a screenplay. The screenwriter (waving at Larry Matthews) constructed his words in such a way so that it was like watching a movie in my head. Besides the memorable characters and intricate plot, want to know what stood out most to me?


Fricky.


Yes, I'm allowed to say that in public and yes, I do still kiss my mother with this mouth. Fricky is Larry Matthew's clever combination of frustrated and icky. One of his characters used it describe how they were feeling, and doggone if it isn't spot on to describe a frequent mood of one of my daughters.


Fricky is a super cool word, which got me to thinking about other cool words that have stuck with me. Ever heard of any of these:


Eyeball
Seems simple enough, like it's been around forever, but it was William Shakespeare who coined this everyday expression.


Growlery
Charles Dickens used this made-up term for the den that Jarndyce liked to retreat to when feeling out of sorts.

Nerd
It wasn't the sale of pocket protectors that introduced this word. It was Dr. Seuss.


Cyberspace
Nope. Wasn't Al Gore that came up with this little gem. it was sci-fi author William Gibson.


Fantabulous
Couldn't find the author of this fantabulous word, but I sure use it a lot.

Craptacular
This one came from a TV show. Ever watch the Simpsons?


See...it's not so hard. Just chop off two words and mash them together. And that's my challenge for you today. Whatever piece you're currently working on, toss in a made-up word by little ol' you. Who knows? Perhaps one of your word creations will make it into Webster's 2050 edition.