# Made up words or Words You Use Wrong For Fun **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682 "2016-05-25T18:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/41 "2016-05-27T12:29:38Z")
I thought of another one. I do strategy work: helping companies clarify their target market position, strategic priorities, and the tactics to get there. This often involves taking a bunch of executives through a thoughtful, complex discussion to figure out what they all agree about. When it appears that we have captured what the group wants, I will sometimes ask: “so - is that more better?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/42 "2016-05-27T17:48:08Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > I had the hardest time learning to say cinnamon. Now I say cimmanon on purpose, just because it reminds me of making apple pie with mom. I have to stop myself from saying cinnaminamin. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/43 "2016-05-27T18:17:59Z")
A few more: backsplash instead of backslash hiccemups instead of hiccups vedication instead of vacation (from when my kids were young) elphanents instead of elephants ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/44 "2016-05-27T18:29:54Z")
A friend started calling any non-motorized wheeled vehicle that didn’t exist when we were kids a “skate-cycle”, as in “Dang kids with their skate-cycles”, and it’s stuck. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/45 "2016-05-27T18:33:26Z")
Two of mine: “Aluminimum foil” (No, that’s NOT the British spelling!) “BYEW-tocks” (per Ensign Pulver) ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/46 "2016-05-27T19:04:28Z")
I call No Frills (grocery store) “No Thrills”. Trust me, it fits. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/47 "2016-05-27T20:05:52Z")
I mess with French. “Sest la vye, as them thar French say!” And around our house, two stores are known as tar-ZHAY and ZHAY-CEE-pee-NAY. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/48 "2016-05-27T21:06:28Z")
Around 1960, my parents went to Europe for a month. They came back joking about the UK tour guide who said, “Now, here’s the drill,” before laying out the “SHED-jule.” That became part of the family usage from then on. They said Italian waiters would set down the food, make an open-handed here-it-is gesture toward it, and say, “So!” I still do that sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/49 "2016-05-27T23:33:12Z")
I always say nump or numpire for umpire and napron for apron. These are etymologically correct, those being the original words. ---
**Author:** ![GinoC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@GinoC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GinoC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/50 "2016-05-28T01:57:02Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Cromulanet and embiggen, from the Simpsons. > > I occasionally use disagrievance. My daughter was in her mid-teens before she realized cromulent wasn’t a real word. She was a bit miffed at her parents. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/51 "2016-05-28T02:52:59Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > backsplash instead of backslash I use a couple of nonstandard punctuation terms. A question mark is a “quizzer”. That makes the “?!” construction a “quizbang”, harkening back to the Old Hackish use of “bang” to refer to an exclamation point. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/52 "2016-05-29T02:47:28Z")
I always call the mechanism that defogs the rear window of my car the "rear window defoggeter’ or just “the defoggeter” for short. I use " embiggen" for the act of spreading my fingers on my tablet, laptop or phone to make the text/picture bigger. I am sure non-Simpson fans think I am just flat crazy. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/53 "2016-05-29T03:11:23Z")
Horsepital for hospital Worstershireshyershewer schaush for worstershire sauce Toxic Hell for Taco Bell Hickeypups for hiccups We’re also a cimmanon for cinnamon Maroon for moron Living in the land of Tar-jey, we often imitate the SNL Target lady: “Erw, lewk! Yer fernd er gert derl!” Dinner may be hermbergers, terters, ern serlid. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/54 "2016-05-29T10:59:25Z")
Some mornings, I start my day with brekkis. On other days, I prefer brefftist. Either way, when I’m doing the cooking, I want to make sure before I start that I have all the ingrediments. Epecially on major holidays like Valleytimes Day and Crimpmuff. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/55 "2016-05-29T11:15:08Z")
If you’ve visited the MMP, you’ll know that we’re fond of adding “age” to nounify verbs. For example, to say that you’ve finished cutting the grass, you would say _“Mowage has been accomplished.”_ Simple and to the point. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/56 "2016-05-29T15:23:21Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > … That makes the “?!” construction a “quizbang”, harkening back to the Old Hackish use of “bang” to refer to an exclamation point. Minor hijack. In the old days of hot metal printing we printers called an exclamation point a bang. It’s my understanding that newspaper folks do as well. [\hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/57 "2016-05-31T09:56:17Z")
Words or spellings they use in the UK, but not the US, are Britishisisms (after a co-worker who absolutely could not pronounce it correctly). Those French pancake-like pastries filled with meat or sweets, are creepies. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/58 "2016-05-31T10:26:34Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > Those French pancake-like pastries filled with meat or sweets, are creepies. Just wanted to say, made correctly, sweet or savory crêpes are nothing akin to pancakes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/59 "2016-05-31T12:15:14Z")
> [@Totenfeier](#): > > And around our house, two stores are known as tar-ZHAY and ZHAY-CEE-pee-NAY. As someone who spent way too many years working at Target, this drove me absolutely insane. Everyone and their mother would say it that way to me as a cashier and I just hated them so much for it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682/60 "2016-05-31T15:07:54Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > As someone who spent way too many years working at Target, this drove me absolutely insane. Everyone and their mother would say it that way to me as a cashier and I just hated them so much for it. I blame Oprah. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/made-up-words-or-words-you-use-wrong-for-fun/755682.md?page=4)