Portmanteau words

This is a word that is invented by combining the beginning of one word and the end of another, keeping the meaning of each.

• smog (smoke + fog) (n) - a form of air pollution that consists of a mixture of smoke and fog, especially in cities
• Telethon (television + marathon) (n) - a very long television programme broadcast to raise money for charity.
• Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge) (n) - the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, when they are taken  together
• Workaholic (work + alcoholic) (n) - a person who works very hard and finds it difficult to stop working
• Eurasia (Europe + Asia) (n) - the continents of Europe and Asia taken together.
• Brunch (breakfast + lunch) (n) - a meal that is eaten in the late morning as a combination of breakfast and lunch.

Informal Words

Informal words are used in normal conversations and writing to friends. Nowadays, journalists use a lot of such words. Radio and TV anchors are also very fond of such terms. Here are a few words connected with Kid.

• Kid(n): a child or young person 

eg. a bunch of kids
How’re the kids?

• Kidult(n): 

1. an adult who participates in activities which are traditionally intended for children.
2. an adult who likes buying things that are usually considered suitable for children.
(Origin: It is a blend of kid and adult.) 

• Kidology(n): 

The art or practice of making people believe something which is not true.

• Kidding(v): joking

eg. He didn’t mean it. He was only kidding.

Stop kidding.

• Kids’ stuff (Br E) kid stuff (Am E): something that is very easy to do or understand.

eg. The lecture is boring. All what he says is kids’ stuff.

• Spoof (n) -m a humorous copy of a movie, television programme, etc. that exaggerates its main feature; a parody eg. a spoof game show, a spoof of a horror film.
• Workaholic (n) - a person who works very hard and finds it difficult to stop working.
• Brunch (n) - a meal that you eat in the late morning as a  combination of breakfast and lunch.
• Schmooze (v) - to chat, to talk in an informal and friendly way about things that are not important.(schmoozer - noun)
• tailgate (v) - to drive too closely behind another vehicle
• tacky (adj.) - cheap, badly made and lacking in taste. Eg. The story had a really tacky ending.

Pseud - ‘Pseudo-’
These are combining forms denoting sham, false, spurious

• Pseudology - the art or science of lying
• Pseudomartyr - a false martyr
• Pseudonym - a pen name, a fictitious name assumed by an author 
• Pseudoarchaic - sham antique, imitative of the old in style
• Pseudocyesis - a psychosomatic condition marked by many of the symptoms of pregnancy.
• Pseudography - unsatisfactory spelling
• Pseudologia - lying in speech or writing

Interesting Terms
Here are a few interesting terms whose meanings are far different from the literal meanings of their individual words that constitute them.

• Pipedream (n) - a hope or plan that is impossible to achieve, an unreal hope or fancy
• White paper - a government report that gives information about something and explains government plans
• Green paper - a document containing government proposals on a particular subject, meant for general discussion.
• Charm offensive (n) - a situation in which a politician is acting in a friendly and pleasant manner to get other people to like him and support his viewpoints.
• Acid test (n) / litmus test (n) - a way of deciding whether something is true.