Dirty Harry speaks to a chair and overnight, Eastwooding enters the vocabulary. Eastwooding is an easy one, like Tebowing. Adding a gerund (an ing) to a noun is child’s play. More advanced wordhacks — Stephen Colbert elevating truthiness to a word of the year — is an art form.
Making up new words (that’s neologisms for the wordanistas out there) isn’t a cyberspace invention. Although the Internet does seem to spawn more than its fair share. Literature has given us Scrooges, Polyannas and Snarks. Science and technology have given us lidar, Google and Photoshop.
Why do we do it? Much easier for people to grok what you’re talking about by smushing two words together like shoe and stupidity. For example:
“The act of wearing ridiculously uncomfortable shoes because – come on – they look incredible.” Example: “Girl those seven-inch Gaga heels you’re rocking are sheer shoepidity. I hope you brought flip-flops!*
These made up words work because we’re not used to them. They trip off the tongue easily and sound interesting to the listener. They work on the brain, telling it to “sit up, switch off autopilot, and translate this.” Used judiciously by clever speakers, writers, educators the wordhack screams “look at me, pay attention.” The best ones are not only unusual, but there are enough familiar parts or references to easily understand and remember them.
So how can you play? I’ve started to compile a handy list of word hacks. Part 1 is below. Instructions included. Enjoy!
*Glamour Magazine, Sep 2012 Issue.
…
Gavin is a founding partner at fassforward Consulting Group. He blogs about PowerPoint, Presenting, Communication and Message Discipline at makeapowerfulpoint.com. You can follow him on twitter @powerfulpoint.
More at Google+, Facebook and Pinterest. Comments are welcome, links are appreciated. If you’re interested in writing guest posts for this blog, please contact me.
I loved this post. First, great use of the word “grok”. Nerds of the world unite. Second, awesome inforgraphic. You really nailed word hacking. One I would add (more for popular culture’s sake) combining a couples name – TomKat, Brangelina
I totally didn’t even realize he used the word grok in the article until I read your comment. Grok is such a common part of my everyday vocabulary that I forgot it was made up… Nerd alert.
Michelle,
Love those. Really displaying your “awesomefullness” (One I got from Laura Foley @LMFdesign this morning.
Gavin
Gavin, I’m glad this got fresh-pressed so I could find it, because this is clearly the Greatest. Article. Ever. (and there’s probably a word for emphasizing your point by separating it into one-word sentences, right?). Seriously, awesome!
Matt. Thank. You.
It was ~ absolutely twerrific!
That’s simply Vocabularicious !
Likeolicious!
I’m going to have to consider this as I’m puting together my own creative writings and posts. Thanks
I love this article. Recently heard someone on TV call herself a BU-JEW regarding their religious beliefs Buddhism combined Jewish. Well then I advised on my most recent blog …I must be a BUD-CAT. Buddhism and Catholic!!
What a neat post. Not much else to say, unique and awesome!
–Jeremy
this is seducisevly addictable!
Thanks for the awesome and informative word hacking lesson, loved the presentation of it all and definitely of freshly-pressable status!
Awesome post! I am looking forward to the next part. Congrats on being freshly pressed.
My friends call me “Kitchen Ninja”! XD
I like your cartoon style presentation, similar to mine.
http://cartoonmick.wordpress.com/humorous-illustration/
Cheers
Mick
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I love this post. I love making up words too. My most recent is jargonic which is an adjective meaning ‘full of jargon’ and it is best used with the words ‘BS’ as in ‘jargonic BS’! Hopefully everyone knows what BS is because I’m not sure I can spell it out on WordPress:)
I will say this much: the post is not replete with stinkiosity.
Reblogged this on Make Her Busy.
This is awesome. It will be helpful for adding more made up words to my vocabulary in the future.
I’m using my likology degree to give you the thumbs up on this. So glad it was FP’d otherwise I may have missed it!
Love this.
But wait until there’s a riot concerning the chat-speech generation tearing up the English language 
Reblogged this on Arabella Cherry Tart and commented:
I’m not alone! Weee!
Reblogged this on ayeshablyzz and commented:
Scrolling in the freshly pressed posts, my eye stuck on this.. Interesting..way to wordhacking… ^_^
I am Yahweh, your God. Thank you for promoting Right Brain Activity. As a God I use Word Perfect and Dream Weaver. Anything I write comes true. My halo genes are all coding. Right Minds can create new words. Left minds are boring.
Yay! I now have a viable alternative to “Grammar Nazi”. I will for evermore be known as a Grammar Ninja. Much better! (and less likely to get odd, slightly judgemental, looks). I can now also be a Spelling Ninja and a Recycling Ninja in addition to a Word Nerd.
Hysterical! I sent the link to your post to all of my financial writing co-workers.
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
very createresting!… (something creative thats equally interesting) ;p
Reblogged this on apriladrales and commented:
make a powerful point.
I love this! I’m always making up silly words and sometimes I accidentally type them in print!
…How Interestlicious! Maybe I need to keep working on this…
Reblogged this on gloomishmel.
Love!!!it!!
A brilliant post, marked by its hilariosity and geniosity!
Ha, excellent, I thought, you must be American, as Americans seem to be particularly good at this (us Brits inventing much more down to earth and useful phrases such as ‘Hey nonny, nonny’. But then I looked at your ‘About’ so maybe you aren’t? Whatever, interesting and I love the evolutionary aspect of language and how humans can manipulate it so beautifully and with such sublime imagination.
Hi Susie,
I am English, though transplanted. I think I still am English and sound English, but when I go back, they all think I’m ‘Merican.
Oh that must be it then, a sort of epigenetic transfer of language skills
Nice one. your post is very good and creative full of attention. keep on posting like this.
Awesome! Gotta repost this. Thanks!
I really enjoyed this post, very simple yet clever at the same time! Me and my partner are always making up silly words and we will use this guide to continue doing so! Great post!
Thanks!
Creating new words is useful. Sometimes, there isn’t an official word to describe what I’m trying to say. For example, one of my favorites is “Actionated,” which means taking something passive and adding some sort of exciting and action-oriented element to it. “They actionated this movie by adding a car chase.”
I tell people I have a license to create new words because I have a degree in English.
apocaloptimist. recently added to my list of favorite words. it also describes the novel i’m writing rather well. good post. congrats on freshpressed.
I just love the creativity expressed in this post, not only in the words but in the presentation too.
Other sensible word hacks that come to mind are Spanglish and Chinglish.
Great reading and definitely deserving to be freshly pressed.
Great blog – Thanks -very educational
Idiots Guide to Sounding Like a ValleyGirl.
I frequently enjoy the simple yet elegant effect of adding a “y” to the end of a verb or noun and using said combination as an adjective. I have recently utilized neologisms such as “that comment makes me feel stabby” and “you wouldn’t believe how exercisey I was this weekend” or “what is there to eat… I am so snacky.” Fun post!
Try these two: “dethaw” and “overneath.” I was quite certain neither were words, but it turns out “dethaw” means to thaw to a liquid state ( i was certain it meant to refreeze), while “overneath” means what you would think, to go over, or the opposite of underneath. Now, I have to apologize to my friend and my daughter. Interesting post, and congratulations!
Fanbloodytastic.
“Stupendous”
Reblogged this on Funkangeles and commented:
Ultra-fabulous
Genious! hah!
What a fun and informative post. You’re clearly a blogging-ninja. Congrats on being FP!
Cool. Serious brillig. And so true.
Reblogged this on ESKINITANG Pinoy .
Good post. I hope these wordhacks make it to the scrabble dictionary pronto.
Very funny and useful!
Awesome post! But the part about the shoes was my favorite! So true! Made me laugh out loud.
I’m sure this post will be a ginormous hit.
love love love this post!
Thanks to this season of Big Brother (14) we have turned Hammock into a verb. There is this kid on there, he uses the Hammock to de-stress, so he goes out there a few times a day to Hammock. Or as I say practically every night they have yard access, “There goes Ian, he’s hammocking again.”
Your post is so visually appealing. I think I made up 4 words today while talking, somehow, I’m not sure that’s a good thing for my vocabulary skills. You think it makes us better speakers or worse? We’re talking like children!
If you watched an episode of an MTV show called “Awkward,” there are a lot of interesting words and phrases made up by the main character’s friend, I forgot the name, most of the words she used had an insulting twist to them; I remember one was “adora-whorable” and it it’s the first time I heard it. In the show it was used in reference to a girl a girl who was adorable for a whore, i.e., “she’s adora-horrible.” The stuff is amusing.
Hi Lila,
You ask a good question – does it make us better speakers or worse.
My quick answer is this – if you use so many made up words that you begin to lose impact – then you are making it worse.
If you use one (maybe two) in a 30 minute presentation, I think you are using a very human, and very memorable tentpole around which to hang the rest of your presentation.
If you use none, and speak like Mr. Webster or Mr. Merriam, then you are going to be pretty boring.
Gavin
You make a powerful point, Gavin
In other words, it’s not about expanding vocabulary, it’s about updating it.
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Fantastic post. Copy editors everywhere are sooning over it right now!
Informidable! … need to work harder on my blogs, thanks!
My brother called me out today on changing staccato into a verb, as in, “spoons staccatoed in the bowl”. When I smiled, he said, “How very James Joyce of you”. We all need to be a little James Joycey
I love this. It makes language so visual when a person or a phrase is transformed into a verb.
“Christian Dior me” from Evita
“Google that”
“Xerox this”
“They live in a McMansion”
“He has a McJob”
luv luv luv it… you’re really creative!!! smart smart! who did all the blogenious sketches?
Thanks! I did the sketches… very slowly
Reblogged this on Artist's Alley.
Gavin I love how you write, and what a great subject. I never knew it was called Wordhacking though!!?
Thanks Matt,
It isn’t (officially) called wordhacking. I made that up. It was better than wordmakeupping, and easier to understand than portmanteau (which is the official name for two words stuck together) or neoligism, which is the word for a new word.
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Cool. (That’s all I got). Oh, and congrats on FP. Too many words, too many words . . .
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The new Twitter-words made me laugh out loud! Great post, great drawings, great becoming Freshly Pressed. Congratulations! I really enjoyed the post.
Love it! Folk on Tumblr do this a lot, often to refer to crossovers between fandoms. E.g. AvengeLock is Sherlock and Avengers; SuperWhoLock is Supernatural, Doctor Who and Sherlock. Those were the first ones I thought of off the top of my head
But it’s slightly different because those are all just names. I don’t come across the words so much, though sometimes I’m stuck for what things mean and have to work it out 
Congrats on Freshly Pressed!
Great post. I especially like the ‘ninja’ bit. My favourites are:
Internet ninja
facebook ninja
Voodo ninja
Reblogged this on BE CURIOUS.
I love to used the word “-lisation”
It’s just too easy to slip into conversations!
Wordalicious
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This is really one of the best posts I’ve seen on wordpress.
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