Rob’s Ramblings: Portmanteau

(Note: Published first on Mad Genius Club at: https://madgeniusclub.com/2020/06/29/portmanteau-a-guest-post/. Thanks to them for letting me join them with a guest post.)

You might know that portmanteau is a great word, but do you know just how wondersational it really is?

In medieval French, portemanteau meant “the “court official who carried a prince’s mantle” as of about the 1540s. This is fairly easy to see. “Porte” is the imperative of porter, which means “to carry.” Hence we get porter. “Manteau” is simply mantle.

In other words, “Hey, you, go carry that cloak.”

In the 1580s, it shifted to the more modern meaning: “traveling case or bag for clothes and other necessaries.”

While that’s still a current meaning of the word, it’s the not the one I find most fun. My favorite meaning is, of course, the combining of parts of two or more words to form another. Motel is a mashing of motor and hotel, for example.

The technical definition of a portmanteau in linguistics is: a single morph that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying morphemes. This means words like starfish or foreshadowing are compounds using two full words are not actually portmanteaus.

Now that we’ve got the boring linguistics stuff out of the way, lets get to the true magic of the word.

Did you know you can say tigons, ligers, and bears and be right? A tigon is a male tiger crossed with a female lion. A male lion and a female tiger is, obviously, a liger.

How fun is that?

OK, maybe I’m easily amused.

I bet eating a turducken with a spork is really difficult, but maybe delicious with a Cambozola cheese on the side. That actually sounds really gouda… (Sorry, I can’t help making cheese puns, even if they are a non sequitur).

Did I mention easily amused?

Anyway…

Here’s a portmanteau you probably use quite often. “Velours” is French for velvet. “Crochet” is French for hook (which is useful to know if your sweetie crochets everything). However, if you attach one to the other, you get Velcro. (Attach. See what I did there?)

Very easily amused, am I. Very.

Unlike most words, we have a specific time when it was first applied to this usage. The first person to say portmanteau in this way was….

Wait for it…

Humpty Dumpty.

No, really. Totally was.

OK, fine, it was Lewis Carroll having good ole’ Hump (as he’s called by his friends) speak to Alice in Through the Looking Glass. He said, “You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.”

“Slithy,” by the way, is a portmanteau: slimy and lithe. “Mimsy” is one too: miserable and flimsy.

Speaking of amusement, now I’m wondering how many of you will spend hours scouring Jabberwocky for all the portmanteaus you can find. Bwa ha, bwa ha ha. For mine is an evil laugh.

But here’s the best part of it all.

Now when you use your Garmin (Gary and Min founded the company) to find a motel in Texarkana (or somewhere in Eurasia) and then undo the velcro holding something in your luggage, you can now let your mind drift to Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll’s imagination.

And ain’t that spifftastic?

 

Rob’s Update: Some Other Beginning’s End

Week 26 of 2020

Greetings all

I’ve had a good couple of weeks since the con in Georgia.

Writing-wise, I wrote a draft of a really short story I’ll return to in July. It’s set in Shijuren, but centuries before the time of Edward and Irina. It’s for an anthology of flash-fiction I was invited to headline getting released in the fall from the Corner Scribblers. You can find some of their previous anthologies here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Corner-Scribblers/e/B082YQWLCZ.

Many thanks to them for inviting me.

I also made a major step in None Call Me Mother this week. I needed to split the various threads apart to make sure I had them working. This week, I re-assembled them and started editing them. I’ve finished 4 of 9 parts, though parts 7, 8, and 9 will need serious revision. Still, it’s an entire novel now.

I dabbled with another project. I don’t know if it will ever turn into a novel or anything, but it might. Right now, it’s just some scraps that are more coherent than most. I’m calling it Cynewulf and I’ll be playing with it every couple of weeks.

I also played around with a couple of snippets from The Ravening of Wolves, which is my tentative title for the sequel to The Feeding of Sorrows. Long way to go, but it’s started.

As for other projects, we’ve completed a bunch of stuff. We had a room that needed new trim and new casing. Thanks to a buddy of mine, it’s now finished and my sweetie is now arranging things.

Actually, the house is in the midst of a major shuffling. The step-daughter moved in with her boyfriend and we’re claiming her room as more space for the sweetie’s crafting stuff. That will probably be the sewing room, as opposed to the quilting room to one side or the sitting room with looms to the other.

Thank goodness we have a big house.

We’re really excited with what we’ll have when we’re done, but there’s lots to do, including replacing carpet in yet another room with bamboo. Fortunately, we’ve gotten pretty good at that.

Oh, and we had a major victory. We changed the front door deadbolt and handle assembly together without cussing at each other. Relationship win!!!

This week I’ll be working to get a full draft of None Call Me Mother finished. I doubt I will by next Friday, but it’s getting close enough it’s not out of the question.

Also, I’m trying to get back into a normal daily routine. These past months have sort of shifted me into a more withdrawn state, as I’m sure many can relate. However, between the con two weekends ago, major progress on None Call Me Mother, and ticking off projects around the house, I’m starting to build back up.

And with that, I’m off to drag some bricks into the house for a project.

Have a great week.

What I’m Listening To

“Closing Time” by Semisonic. Not a great song by any stretch, but enjoyable nonetheless because it does a great job of capturing that moment.

Quote of the Week

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Closing Time, Semisonic

Yeah, it’s pithy. Yeah, it’s obvious and corny. Yet, for all that, it’s an easy sentiment to forget. Just because the good times have ended at one place doesn’t mean the next step in our lives won’t be better. Just gotta keep our chins up and make every day a step forward. Even a small step forward is useful.

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (121,212)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AOOE (1,030)
  • Cynewulf (2,473)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Mel Todd. She just released a new book called My Luck, the first of a new series. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0893KQX8X.

Also, Ian J. Malone just released the second in his Mako Saga. It’s called Red Sky Dawning and you can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BRB719G.

Today’s Weight: 381.4 (Note, the bad news is last time I accidentally typed 376 instead of 386. The good news is that I am still losing weight, and 381 is getting there.)

Updated Word Count: Will update next week

Shijuren Wiki: 34 entries

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
The Phases of Mars
Short Stories

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Rob’s Update: Georgia On My Mind

Week 24 of 2020

Greetings all

I’m in Dalton, GA at ConFinement, the mini-convention to replace LibertyCon. It’s been fantastic to get out and see people. Since I’m on the road and lots of things are going on, this is a bit abbreviated.

And I’m clearly not the only one. We’re having a great time.

While it’s much, much smaller than LibertyCon, it’s been especially nice to actually get to talk to some people I’ve been aware of, but haven’t really gotten to konw.

I’m still making progress with None Call Me Mother. It is almost not vaporware. Finally.

Too much is going on here. Having a great time. Will talk more later.

What I’m Listening To

The Baen Road show is happening on the other side of the room. The Baen people talk about what’s coming, give out books, and generally have a hoot. Most LibertyCons I can’t go because I’m usually scheduled against it, so I’m really happy to to get to watch this time.

Quote of the Week

“There is one true way of writing, and it’s whatever helps you get words on the page.”
– Me, to many new writers. Keep writing everyone.

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother
  • CB (8,418)

Upcoming Events

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
The Phases of Mars
Short Stories

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Weekly Update: Time Keeps on Slippin’

Week 23 of 2020

Greetings all

Clearly, I have been losing track of days of late. It’s been four weeks since my last update and I barely even noticed. What have I been doing in the last month?

Glad you asked.

I wrote and sent off a short story for one thing. It’s to a publisher I’ve not worked with and I’m excited about the opportunity he gave me. Publication date hasn’t been set, and I can’t tell you much about it right now, but it’s a lot of fun.

I also made a lot of progress on None Call Me Mother. I know I’ve said that over and over, but it’s been tough sledding at times. This is the first time I’ve ever written a trilogy, and there are things I would definitely do differently. Of course, I’m a better writer than I was when I wrote I Am a Wondrous Thing, and I already do some of the things differently now out of habit.

I completed a number of small projects here and there. As I look around the house, we keep getting more and more done. Currently, we’re focusing on the back yard. Also, I keep adding a bit here, a bit there to get the Wiki back to its updated and improved form.

Also, I got interviewed by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. It’ll get published on Sunday and you’ll find it here when it goes live: https://www.nwaonline.com/features/whatsup/

The writer, Becca Martin-Brown, has been a buddy of mine for a long, wonderful time, so this is definitely a case of it’s good to have friends. I really appreciate her and this interview.

Next week I go off to a small mini-con designed to replace some of LibertyCon’s functionality. I am so looking forward to getting on the road again. I’m a wanderer by nature and it’s time.

Speaking of LibertyCon that wasn’t, this week sees the release of Give Me LibertyCon, the anthology including a bunch of big names written to celebrate the memory of Uncle Timmy with all the proceeds going to charity. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Me-LibertyCon-Christopher-Woods-ebook/dp/B087H4BM3R/.

Well, that’s enough for now. I’ve got writing to do. And I’ll try to be more aware of the passage of time going forward.

What I’m Listening To

AC/DC Thunderstruck.

Side note: If these talent shows always had performances like this one that is sure to “brighten” your day, I’d watch them more often. Of course, this is *Australia’s* Got Talent…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO1bGlyHDNU

Quote of the Week

The song immediately after Thunderstruck was Steve Miller Band’s Fly Like an Eagle. How appropriate.

“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future ”
– Steve Miller Band, Fly Like an Eagle

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (About 110k)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

  • Sheesh, not a damn thing except adding items to the wiki.

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Give Me LibertyCon, an amazing anthology just released by Baen. Basically a bunch of big names decided to celebrate the memory of Uncle Timmy, founder of LibertyCon, with an anthology. Side note: The profits go to charity.
You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Me-LibertyCon-Christopher-Woods-ebook/dp/B087H4BM3R/

Today’s Weight: 376.4

Updated Word Count: No clue, will pass that on next week

Shijuren Wiki: 33 entries (which actually includes probably more like 100 of the old pages as I have condensed a number of pages to make it easier to navigate).

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
The Phases of Mars
Short Stories

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org