"nonundelows"

[Gregory {Greg} Downing]

I saw this word last night in a local newspaper, in a story bylined "Emily
Green, L.A. Times News Service." Maybe it's a well-known term, but I'd not
seen it before. Then again, maybe it's Ms. Green's hapax legomenon -- or, if
it is new and actually gains some currency, her coinage.

"Nonundelows" are apparently processed foods in which supposedly "unhealthy"
ingredients have been partially or entirely removed. It must be formed from
non- + un- + de- + low, i.e., from the prefixes and the adjective most
commonly used for such products, e.g., low-fat, non-fat, etc. The term seems
to be deliberately awkward and sarcastic; the author of the article was
disparaging low-fat/no-fat and similar foods.



Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing at nyu.edu or gd2 at is2.nyu.edu