Power-Packed Word Blends: How to Evaluate Portmanteau Names for Companies or Products

"Why snackrifice ?"

The title appears on the back of the box Triscuits (textured wheat crackers). Although it uses a word that is not in the dictionary, the instant you say the word for themselves, to understand its meaning. "Snackrifice" will involve forgoing tasty snacks to enjoy, as the health, cost or other issues.

This kind of word blends shows up occasionally in the product, company and event names and labels for political groups and demographic trends.

In the winter of 2011, people in the U.S. mid-Atlantic to discuss a massive snowstorm Snowmageddon - also called "snowtastrophe" and "snowpocalypse ."

This kind of verbal invention goes back at least to Lewis Carroll, whose character Humpty Dumpty explains the poem called "Jabberwocky" from Alice in Chapter 6 "Through the Looking Glass ."

"Well, 'slithy' means' lithe and slimy," Humpty Dumpty exposed to. "You see, this is a portmanteau - there are two meanings packed up into one word ."

Some newer, relatively established examples of blended words of love (Bombay + Hollywood), brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog) and the prequel (before + continuing ).

What makes an invention like this effective? Here is a five-point scoring system that separates the winners from the weaklings.

Points 1 and 2 indicate whether or not two words in combination are recognized out of context. If both are given the name of two points, and if only one is given one point. I'd give "prequel" two points, since there is no other word than "sequel" ending in "-equel" and the intention is to "advance" twist is crystal clear.

I'd give "love" just one of two places here, because while "-ollywood" just cause "Hollywood", the "B" means it must be learned. Indeed, the "B" reference is more ambiguous than it once was, now that Bombay is known in the West as well as Mumbai. I'd give "slithy" point zero, as the excerpt from the "slimy" and "supple" is pretty unguessable.

for a legal word compound names, I would give Verizon one of two possible sites for its obvious similarities "horizon", a dark expression, "Veritas," said the Latin word for "truth." Ditto for Accenture, which is easy to recognize the original meaning of the element "emphasis", but it's hard to understand that the "temperature" comes from "the future". Fruitsations name gets two points here, as you probably know immediately that the name implies a "fruit" plus "feel ."

Point 3 means that two words fit neatly together. "Snackrifice" wins this point too, since "snack" perfect rhymes "bag" record it replaces. All three snow disasters word bandied about the past month to lose this time, however, because the "snow" does not rhyme with "Ar" in Armageddon, "ca" to "disaster" or "a" in "Apocalypse." "Slithy" he loses meaning, because the "m" of "slimy" inexplicably lost in the combination.

for point 4, to assess whether the name has only one plausible excuse. Here "snackrifice" prevails again, but it lags behind Verizon. I clearly remember when the company was new, not knowing whether it was intended as a Zahn-or very-zone. In fact, it is the most-rye-Zahn, a possibility that never occurred to me.

Clause 5 is admittedly subjective. This means that whether or not the word lover gets chills watching the enthusiasm blended name. I would give this time to "Love", "Snowmageddon", "slithy" and "snackrifice" but not "brunch", "smog", "snowtastrophe" or "snowpocalypse ."

to reflect a mixture of words can become addictive! Be sure to run your creations through this five-point test before setting expensive marketing campaigns to them.