10 new coinages of the PR realm

Sometimes invented words show mere ignorance. Some, such as these beauties, walk a fine line between madness and brilliance.

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Neologisms: 1: a new word, usage, or expression; 2: a meaningless word coined by a psychotic.

Let’s go with definition No. 1.

This is an exercise many people engage in, including the Sunday NY Times Magazine, with its column, “That should be a Word.” There’s also my husband, who invented “clerty” – a mashup of “clean” and “dirty” for when one is undecided whether a dress shirt should be dry cleaned or could handle in one more wearing.

In PR, where clever portmanteaus (or annoying coinages, take your pick) are the norm.

Here are some interesting terms that have recently popped up and some PR-usage examples:

HURRICATION: The unexpected day off work or school resulting from a nearby hurricane, producing enough rain and wind to shut everything down for a day or two, but not enough of a direct hit to cause damage or worry. “The hurrication caused by Superstorm Sandy left us unable to conduct any of our weekly client conference calls.”

INCOMMODEICADO: The state of being in the bathroom without a cell phone. “I excused myself from the marathon meetings to return a reporter’s call on deadline but found myself incommodeicado!”

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