Skelingtons Hefalumps and Libradies.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Where/why/how did these fairly well known words make their way into the language of english-speaking children?

If they are ‘cute’ modifications by parents, how did the parents come up with them? And how did they get so common?
What are some other common cute words kids use for everyday things?
Thought process courtesy of ‘Reaper Man’ (Terry Pratchett)

[spoiler](in which the litttle girl repeatedly refers to Death aka ‘Bill Door’ as a skelington.)
I’m lovin’ this book

I particularly like the reference the bit about death being challenged to a game of monopoly![/spoiler]

2

Heffalumps come from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

3

Pasketti comes to mind. I’ve also heard people use “aminals” instead of animals.

4

They’re mispronunciations by children that are perpetuated by parents. “Heffalump,” no doubt, was how Christopher Robin Milne pronounced “elephant.” “Pasghetti” is so well known that most parents say it before their kids get a chance to screw it up themselves.

5

My cousin used to say that something revolting was “ingusting.”

6

I used to say “Skellingtons” instead of “Skeletons” when I was a kid, just of my own accord.
I used to also say “in-day-gent” when I meant to say “indignant”.
This little girl I babysat used to say “flutterbys” for “butterflys”.

7

And brothers get called Bubba because that’s how a very small child pronounces it.

8

“Skellington” is actually the correct pronunciation of “skeleton” - it’s everyone else who’s saying it wrongly…

9

Chimbly.

10

Ambleeance comes from the chimbley school of thought, too, I’d say.

Dad was in the construction industry, so we had more exposure to such things than other kiddiwinks might have had, but when we were little, we would spot mix cementers driving up the road, rather than cement mixers.

11

Hostipal.

12

My nephew refers to his testicles as “tentacles”.

13

MY nephew calls 'em his “ukles.”

The WryGuy and I were just talking recently about our daughter’s babytalk and how we’ve incorporated it into everyday speech, much to her disgust. Bananas are, for some reason, “leelas” and yogurt is “yacko.” From my niece, we get “dosie-sore” (grocery store), “steepdealt” (seatbelt) and “gymnaskets” (gymnastics.)

14

My parents still occasionally refer to ice cream as “kookek”.

15

Hey, maybe they are, have you checked? How cool would that be? Imagine all the things you could do with them.

16

:eek:

17

clothahump is “ascared (ah-sker’d)”

18

A few from the Butler household (ok, my parent’s household)

Sister couldn’t say Donut, do it was a doh-nie.

Brother couldn’t say the “Agwam Diner” so it became the “Fresh warm diner” (Yep the one on Rt 1 in Rowley MA for the New England dopers).

I on the other hand didn’t speak any words at all until I was about 4, and haven’t shut up since.

The wife once mistook a town line marker that said E. Kingston (NH) for Ekingstion. Hilarity ensued when she asked where the heck we were, she had never heard of “Ekingston” and she had grown up in the state where we now reside!

Most of the time, I think adults just play along with the words kids make up as they just seem so darned cute! : )

-Butler

19

I took Astrominy in college. The course was so easy you didn’t even need to pronounce the word right to pass.

20

My cousin, when she was younger, called a hotel a “shotello”.