Last month, we discussed portmanteau words, words formed by combining parts of other words. We failed to discuss one of the most familiar portmanteaus: Mix smoke and fog, and what do you have? Smog.
Smog is a lovely portmanteau; not just for its usefulness, but for its euphony: "Smog" just sounds right for what it describes. That low guttural slap of a word nicely approximates the emotional response provoked by the thing itself. Good job, wordsmiths.
We've been thinking about portmanteaus again because last night we were introduced to a new one on a Facebook friend's wall: Slunt. This portmanteau is a derogatory term for a woman, combining "slut" with. . . well, we hesitate to mention with what. Suffice to say it begins with a 'c' and will get you pummeled if you use it unadvisedly. Despite that--or perhaps because of it--we think it a wonderfully evocative term of disapprobation: "Oh, my God! That slunt's making out with my boyfriend!"
We wonder about the relative appropriateness of this particular term. If one calls someone a "slunt," is it equivalent to calling her a slut or. . . the other thing? For now, because of its novelty and somewhat humorous connotation, one could probably get away with using the term. But if the term catches on, will it become more offensive or less? Female friends can playfully call each other "slut" (or even "bitch") in much the same way that black people can amicably tar each other with the 'N' word. But we've never heard girlfriends refer to each other as "cunts." (See how jarring it is, even in a semi-clinical context?) Where does "slunt" fall on the spectrum of insult.
Who decides on the relative offensiveness level of new insults? At what point does mildly off-color become egregiously inappropriate?
First of all, it's about time that people realised that when it comes to words, to somewhat paraphrase the bard: "There's nought either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so." (and don't ask which bard). Second, while slunt may oy may not be a "fun" word, it's a lousy portmanteau one! As Lewis Carroll, aka The Rt. Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodson, who invented the dever (damn+clever) things noted, they combined TWO SEPARATE ideas/words: Slunt contains one. (Any way you look at it, the more derogatory of the words is merely an intensifier of the lesser one)Now, if you use it, combined with "Runt" to signify a SHORT slut, well, NOW you're talking! I... what? Oh, that IS what it means? never mind.
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was interesting just how many derogatory words there are to describe women. The fact that we actually came up with another one boggles the mind.
ReplyDeleteHmmm..that's a tricky one. Because it evokes the incindiary "C"-word, "slunt" just feels...wrong. But, it is kinda catchy, and perhaps fills a void of adjectives. When you're just too outraged at the woman who steals your boyfriend to call her a "Slut", maybe you need something a little more vicious. I'll need to think of an appropriate male-oriented insult, surely that can't be too difficult to come up with.
ReplyDeletePortmanteau, huh? Had to look that one up. Ever impressed with your vocabulary, J.
FOS