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Shortenings, Blends and Acronyms 210 deli( ca tes~ SHlORTENINGS, BLENDS AND ACRONYMS disco(theq exam(inati frank (furt frat(ernitj gar(fish) gas(oline) ROBERT DEVEREUX gent (lemar Falls Church, Virginia glad(iolus grad(uate The English lexicon has attained its present size, at least in grid(iron) part, by the creation of new words based on existing ones. Tn gym (nasiu large measure this has involved the addition of prefixes and suf­ hack(ney) fixes to existing words to create new ones having new meanings hippo( pota or nuances, but subtractive ways of using existing words to create homo( sexu, new ones have also been used. Three closely-related types of such hood(lum) words - shortenings, blends and acronyms - are discussed below; jock (strap in all three, a new word is created by taking letters in order A few shortl from the original word or words. One can distinguish between (ucational s shortenings and blends by noting that the former utilizes a group sioned offic of 'consecutive letters contained in the original word, such as error), and van for caravan or bra for brassiere, whereas the latter utilizes parts of two words, such as blotch = bl(ot + bUotch. Blends are Tn a smal ordinarily formed by taking the first few letters from one word (allilgatol and comb1ning these with the last few letters from the other, but (auto) giro there are two limiting cases. Tn one, the first word is fully em­ (cara}van ployed a t the start of the blend; in the other, the last word is fully employed at the end. Finally, one can distinguish between Less freg blends and acronyms by noting that the former consist of words new word that can be taken in either order (for a notable example, consider commonest e: liger = li(on + til ger, and tigon = tig (er + li)on) , whereas acro­ Any of th nyms are formed out of letters taken from conventional phrases graphic or 1 that cannot be reversed. Usually, acronyms are built up from the first letter or letters in each word of the phrase, unlike blends ammo (am which use terminal letters as well. Acronyms are distinguished bike (biC; from initialisms by the fact that the resulting concatenation of biz (show letters is pronounced as a word, such as veep for vice-president, bosun (be not merely spelled out letter by letter, such as TV or DDT. Finally, brolly (ur acronyms are distinguished from abbreviations by the fact that carom (ca the latter use letters from other parts of the word or words, such fridge (n as Dr. for doctor. Acronyms, blends and shortenings all reflect frosh (fre the tendency of speakers and writers to encode commonly-used Hooch or h words and phrases in shorter forms to save time and paper in lieve it or communicating. kan 1ndian Shortenings More freq and writing As already noted, a shortening can be defined as a word pro­ speech and duced by the dropping of part of a longer word or phrase. Almost whatever tr always, the latter part of the word is dropped: all shorten ad (vertisement) blitz (k rieg) cham p (ion) cox(swain} achieved su bach(elor} bra(ssiere} chap(arajo)s deb (utante) to include bally(hoo} brig(antine) condo(minium} decal( coma n ia) 211 deli(catessen) knicker(bocker)s polio( myelitis) roto(gravure) (MS disco( theque) logo( type) postgrad(uate) sax(ophone) exam (ination) lunch (eon) prefab{ricate) schizo (phrenic) frank(furter) math(ematics) prelim (ina ry) sis(ter) frat(ernity) memo(randum) prep(aratory) strep (tococca l) gar( fish) metro( politan) prot fessional) sulfa(nilamide) gas(oline) mitt(en) prole (tariat) sync(hronize) gent(leman) mutton(head) prom(enade) tach (ometer) glad(iolus) nitro(glycerine) psych (ology) tarp(aulin) grad(uate) nympho(maniac) pug (ilist) trig (onometry) at least in grid(iron) orang(utan) pup(py) uke (lele) :lg ones. In gym(nasium) pep(per) rec (rea tion) vamp(ire) es and suf­ hack(ney) phenom(enon) recon(naissance) vet(erinarian) ~w meanings hippo(potamus) photo(graph) ref(eree) wag (halter) ds to crea te homo( sexual) piano( forte) repro( duction) wiz(ard) 'pes of such hood(lum) piezo( electric) rev(olution) Yank(ee) lssed below; jock(strap) pip(pin) rhino(ceros) rs in order A few shortenings deal with phrases: (sodium) bicarb(onate), coed­ ish between (ucational student), gat(ling gun), narc(otics agent), noncom(mis­ zes a group sioned officer), pub(lic house), Tam (o'Shanter), typo(graphical i, such as error), and zoo( logical garden). tter utilizes Blends are In a small group of words, the first part is dropped: m one word (allilgator (chrysanthe)mums (hur)rah (tele)phone ~ other, but (auto)giro (em)ploy (ice)berg (turn)pike .s fully em­ (cara)van (heli)copter (o)possum (violin)cello) ast word is ish between Less frequent, but nonetheless possible, is the creation of a st of words new word from the middle portion of an existing one. The two Ie, consider commonest examples are (in )flu (enza) and (di) still( ery) . lereas acro­ Any of these types of shortening can be combined with an ortho­ :lal phrases graphic or phonetic alteration: It up from :llike blends ammo (ammunition) kook (cuckoo) prexy (president) istinguished bike (biCycle) middy (midshipman) rick shaw (j inrikisha ltenation of biz (show business) mike (microphone) rotor (rotator) e-president, bosun (boatswain) morfrey (hermaphrodite) sarge (sergeant) >T. Fina lly , brolly (umbrella) pants (pantaloons) strobe (stroboscope) ~ fact tha t carom (carambole) phiz (physiognomy) undies (underpants) Nords, such fridge (refrigerator) piX (pictures) vibes (vibrations) all reflect frosh (freshman) pram (perambula tor) whiz (wizard) nmonly-used Hooch or hootch, a slang term for alcoholic liquor, derives, be­ d paper in lieve it or not, from Hoochinoo, or Hutsnuwu, the name of an Alas­ kan Indian tribe which made liquor. More frequently than not, shortenings are used in informal speech and writing, while the parent words continue to be used for formal l word pro­ speech and writing. There are, of course, many exceptions. But ·ase. Almost whatever their origins, modes of usage, and process of formation, a 11 shortenings share one thing in common, namely, they have (swain) achieved sufficient currency that lexicographers have felt compelled (utante) to include them as separate entries in EngliSh dictionaries. They Oil( comania) 212 have, in short, achieved a life of their own. b l(ot + b) br( eakfas1 Indeed, some shortenings are guilty of what one might humor­ chu(nk + ously call lexical patricide. For example, every speaker of English cl(ap + Cl knows the word bus, but relatively few are aware that it is merely fl(ame + ~ a shortened form of omnibus. English dictionaries still carry an fl(ash + ~ entry for omnibus, as a noun, defined as "an automotive public gl(eam + ~ vehicle," but the word has disappeared from use except in its gl(obe + 1 adjectival meaning, as in "the Senate passed an omnibus appro­ g(oo + m) priations bill." In other cases, dictionaries no longer even list j(oll + b) the antecedents of some shortenings. Brandywine and rumbullion, j(oll + tll the antecedents of brandy and rum, are two good examples. And mo(tor + 1 how many English speakers are aware that gammon, maitre d 'ho­ na(g + ch tel, quacksalver and rakehell are the original versions of, respect­ pri(m + S' i vely, gam. maitre d'. quack and rake? Another good example is taxi and cab, both shortenings of taxicab. But the latter itself, A perusal unbeknownst to most English speakers, is merely a shortening examples: of taximeter cab, with cab, moreover, being a shortening of cab­ bl(end + riolet. In other contexts, of course, cab is a shortening of cabin, br( awl + as in truck cab. Fran (cais As the above example demonstrates, some shortenings reflect gal(lop + two or more longer words or, to phrase it differently, two or more gr( im + g words may spawn the same shortening. Thus, gyro is synonymous Many are co with both gyrocompass and gyroscope; helio with both heliogram and heliograph; kilo with both kilogram and kilometer; quad with bin(ary + both quadrangle and quadruplet; perk with both perquisite and bit nary + percolate; recap with recapitulate, recapitulation and recapped electr( icit: tire; rep with both reputation and representative; stereo with neur(on + stereoscopy, stereophonic reproduction and stereophonic sound sys­ Similarly, t tem; sub with submarine. substitute and substratum; and van of solidly e~ with vanguard and caravan. There are also others that could be cited. Coop, for example, stands for cooperative store, cooper­ avi(ation ative society or cooperative apartment, depending on context, while ci(pher + lube is the shortened form of both lubricant and lubrification. elev(ator Porno, as a noun, stemps from pornography, but, as an adjective, heli(coptel from pornographic. The theatrical term prop can reflect either li(ght + r property or property man, while steno is short for both stenography New plant Ol and stenographer. On the other hand, a single English word may spawn two different shortenings. Beside the previously-mentioned cari (bou + taxicab, the two that leap to mind are oleomargarine, which has cattOe + 1 prod uced both oleo and margarine, and muskelunge, giving us garl(ic + musk ie and lunge. li(on + til Ble.nds Another rele in any dict Blends, or what Lewis Carroll dubbed portmanteau words, are consulted ­ words formed of parts of two (sometimes, three or more) other graphers ma words. Carroll, for example, suggested slithy, meaning both slimy well establU an d lithe, but it never took hold and is not to be found in any Beefalo Assc English dictionary or, at least, in any that I consulted.
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