Create memorable acronyms
First there was FUBAR: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition. Now, thanks to the Urban Dictionary, we also have PHOBAR: PHOtoshopped Beyond All Recognition.… Read the full article
Wordplay
Alliterate a little list
‘A spoonful of alliteration helps the medicine go down’
I’m a sucker for an alliterative list.
When a client asked me to write a piece on the 28 languages now available on her company’s technology, I wrote this lead:
Got a list?… Read the full article
Neologisms: Coin a word
Create new terms by merging old ones
I was working on a story today when a writerruption occurred: My brother sent me photos of The Cutest Kid In the World — aka my niece.… Read the full article
Verbify a name
‘My goal in life is to become an adjective’
I was thrilled last month when one of my clients asked me to “Wylie-ize” part of her website.… Read the full article
Neologisms: Find half-and-half words
Gain inspiration for portmanteau from WordSpy
Tracy Ousdahl and Paul Pinney have traveled the globe. But sometimes, instead of venturing out to a cool destination, they use their time off to visit their families.… Read the full article
Play twister
Four steps to twist of phrase
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
— Jack London, American author and adventurer
Some people are natural-born phrase twisters.… Read the full article
Revive a cliché
Extend the metaphor to make a worn-out phrase new again
Call it a cliché makeover.
Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, breathes new life into old, worn-out phrases in his 2006 letter to shareholders.… Read the full article
Resources on playing with words
Websites, books and tools
Learn more techniques for playing with your words.
Anagrams
Andy’s anagram solver
Type in your key word or phrase, and this tool will create anagrams from them.… Read the full article
From diddleman to nominatrix
Open readers’ minds by creating your own words
The first people to “neologize publicly on purpose” were English writers Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Among other neologisms, Carroll, author of Through the Looking Glass, brought us “chortle,” a combination of “snort” and “chuckle.”… Read the full article
