“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, “it means just what I choose to mean — neither more nor less.”
— THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
I agree with Mr. Dumpty: Words have meaning. But surely we can seize upon a meaning and then create a word to match it. The following words-some culled from the crowdsourced online dictionary urban dictionary.com and others I’ve concocted myself-don’t exist according to Merriam-Webster...but should I call them “worderfuls”.
blamestorming n. — The act of attempting to identify the person who is most at fault for a plan’s failure.
cellfish n. — Someone who talks on the phone to the exclusion of those he or she is with.
chairdrobe n. — A chair on which one piles clothes that belong in the closet. Not to be confused with a floordrobe.
chiptease n. — A bag of potato chips that seems full but is mostly air.
dullema n. — The choice between two equally boring outcomes.
epiphinot n. —An idea that seems like an amazing insight to the conceiver but is in fact pointless, mundane, stupid, or incorrect.
errorist n. — Someone who is repeatedly or invariably wrong.
nonversation n. — A completely meaningless or useless conversation.
pregret v. — To know what you’re about to do is wrong, wrong, wrong while also knowing you will do it anyway.
unlighten v. — To learn something that makes you dumber.
【小题1】According to the writer, “worderfuls” refer to words ________.| A．that are collected by online dictionaries |
| B．that already exist but have a new meaning |
| C．that are made up to match certain meanings |
| D．that have been included in Merriam-Webster |
| A．blamestorming | B．chairdrobe | C．chiptease | D．errorist |
| A．cellfish | B．nonversation | C．pregret | D．unlighten |
