I have found this to be great fun, and something that will confound those in your life who (or should it be “whom”?) you secretly want to bash with a broom (or kick, if they happen to be terrier-types who have recently given you a good filling-of-the-pants with their deep obnoxious unnecessary barks). I’ve only recently discovered this, and a good friend of mine (who has three almost-all-grown-up sons, so maybe she was just forced into this by sheer necessity) has actually unknowingly made contributions to my word lists. I think reading a lot helps this, but that’s no guarantee. Creating your own words is, after all, a fine art, and one which we could all stand to improve. My techniques are crude at best and usually aimed at getting a laugh out of myself. (Selfish motives all.)

Ways you can make your own words:

– Add “butt” to the end of a word, my favorite being colorful adverbs

o Fussybutt

o Muffetbutt

o Fidgetbutt

– Add “head” to the end of a word, my penchant being nasty nouns (but not “bad” words)

o Poopyhead (can’t wait to see the brilliant submissions on this one!)

o Sillyhead

– Add “ly” to the end of just about any word, my preferences are unexpected words and words that have a ring to them afterward

o Confoundedly

o Drattedly

– Combine two words

o Veggienoodles are the only things I can get her to eat!

o Lunchdinner is always a favorite of mine on the weekends.

– Use a noun as a verb or a verb as a noun

o Maybe we can pizza something together.

o The way the music kicks in is nervousing indeed.

o Those cheeks just make you want to meatball her to pieces!

– Capitalize words that reference important places or ideas, thereby changing their meaning by a shade of gray

o Let’s think about The Child and see if we can alter her Mind.

o Perhaps a bit of Special Tea, my dear?

o Being and Eternal Optimist, I’m unable to not hope for a happy ending in the book, no matter how hopeless it looks now.

Now, what wordsmithing techniques do you have to share? (And if it’s worth a post, be sure to leave me a comment or an email so I don’t miss it!) 🙂