Fun with words: short antonyms

[Martin Willett]

If you enjoy being playful with words you might fancy helping out in
my neologenetic workshop. I'm currently working on short antonyms,
which offer a lot of potential for creating new words and for
stretching the brain into novel shapes for the amusement
of the young at heart, like making balloon animals but without that
infernal squeaking sound.

An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
Therefore a tonym is a word which means exactly what it means. Tonym
is a short antonym.

English uses several different prefixes and suffixes to create
negatives which gives us plenty of scope for some creative
neologenetic experimentation.

Creet: careless and foolhardy

Crete: amorphous

Quarian: a person who loves new things

Lirium: calm apathy

Piarist: a man without any bees

Tellectual: dull witted person

Telectual: couch potato

Thlete: person given to the life of a telectual

Dominals: the beer gut of a thlete

Feck: strong, effective and responsible

OL: a decent ISP

Ject: cheerful, chirpy, full of beans

Racadabra: dull words that fail to change things: political speeches

Struse: simple to understand

Mex card: something you should always leave at home

Poster: the man himself

O: offensive term for a white Australian

Postasy: standing by your beliefs

http://pub157.ezboard.com/fmememachineforumfrm5

http://mwillett.org/mind/neologenetics.htm

[John Dean]

Post by Martin Willett
If you enjoy being playful with words you might fancy helping out in
my neologenetic workshop. I'm currently working on short antonyms,
which offer a lot of potential for creating new words and for
stretching the brain into novel shapes for the amusement
of the young at heart, like making balloon animals but without that
infernal squeaking sound.
An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
Therefore a tonym is a word which means exactly what it means. Tonym
is a short antonym.

'onym', Shirley?
--
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

[Martin Willett]

Post by John Dean

Post by Martin Willett
If you enjoy being playful with words you might fancy helping out in
my neologenetic workshop. I'm currently working on short antonyms,
which offer a lot of potential for creating new words and for
stretching the brain into novel shapes for the amusement
of the young at heart, like making balloon animals but without that
infernal squeaking sound.
An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
Therefore a tonym is a word which means exactly what it means. Tonym
is a short antonym.

'onym', Shirley?

"an" is a negative kind of prefix, as in anarchy, the lack of
government and antagonism. And anastigmatism: free from astigmatism.
Anaphrodisiac: tending to reduce sexual desire. Anandrous: having no
stamens. OK, it's probably the result of a shortening of ant/anti, and
there are not a lot of examples but an is a real negating prefix and
it does give rise to a few possibilities.

I'll try to make things struse in future.

In playing this game I've found that some apparently whimsical short
antonyms are real and genuine. Like reck: pay heed to. and gorm:
gormlessness n.[originally gaumless, from dialect gaum ‘understanding
’]

So in inventing new ones you really have to do your homework.

aphylactic shock: the response of a thlete to the bag of peanuts being
found to be empty.

chovy: every child's favourite pizza topping.

glicanism: a thoroughly disreputable Christian sect that is rapidly
gaining converts.

orexia: normal healthy eating habits.

swerphone: something everybody is happy to speak to for hours.

[John Dean]

Post by Martin Willett

Post by John Dean

Post by Martin Willett
If you enjoy being playful with words you might fancy helping out in
my neologenetic workshop. I'm currently working on short antonyms,
which offer a lot of potential for creating new words and for
stretching the brain into novel shapes for the amusement
of the young at heart, like making balloon animals but without that
infernal squeaking sound.
An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
Therefore a tonym is a word which means exactly what it means. Tonym
is a short antonym.

'onym', Shirley?

"an" is a negative kind of prefix, as in anarchy, the lack of
government and antagonism. And anastigmatism: free from astigmatism.
Anaphrodisiac: tending to reduce sexual desire. Anandrous: having no
stamens. OK, it's probably the result of a shortening of ant/anti, and
there are not a lot of examples but an is a real negating prefix and
it does give rise to a few possibilities.

Ept planation.
--
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

[Mike]

Post by Martin Willett
Feck: strong, effective and responsible

Shouldn't that be 'feckful'?

[John Dean]

Post by Mike

Post by Martin Willett
Feck: strong, effective and responsible

Shouldn't that be 'feckful'?

fecking, Shirley.
--
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

[amcgr]

Post by John Dean

Post by Mike

Post by Martin Willett
Feck: strong, effective and responsible

Shouldn't that be 'feckful'?

fecking, Shirley.
--
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

Maybe "fecked"? (Or does that sound too rude?).

Cindy R.