sweater

[Laurence Horn]

On Dec 17, 2011, at 5:46 PM, victor steinbok wrote:

> As for the difference you suggest, I am not sure if "better" is the right
> word for it. Perhaps "preferred by some". Perhaps an even better option
> would have been to drop the plural marker--but let's consult the experts on
> this. I have no particular preference or deep concern about this, but if
> it's incorrect, I'll be happy to change it in the future (it's a little
> late to correct the errors that have already been committed--and committed
> to electronic "print").
>

Yup, whence the counterfactual nature of the well-established verb "unsend".

The nice thing about using "portmanteau" as a head noun rather than a mere modifier in a nominal compound is that then you get to decide whether "portmanteaus" is just wrong, "portnanteaux" is too pompous (or, like John Kerry, just "too French"), or both.  Lewis Carroll doesn't really help us on this, since he just provides the metaphor: _slithy_, _chortle_ et al. involve "two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau". He doesn't risk the plural.

LH
>
> On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 5:08 PM, Dan Nussbaum <yekkey at aol.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Aside from three portmanteaus=20
>>
>> Victor,
>>
>>
>> Would not "portmanteau words" have been a better term than just
>> "portmantea=
>> u?"
>>
>>
>> Dan Nussbaum
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org