Lucy Vickery

New word order | 17 May 2018

issue 19 May 2018

In Competition No. 3048 you were invited to take an existing word and alter it by a) adding a letter, b) changing a letter, and c) deleting a letter — and to supply definitions for all three new words.
 
Inspiration for this challenge came from across the pond, courtesy of the Washington Post’s Style Invitational column, whose regular neologism-themed contests are always a blast.
 
Though many entries were partially successful, few competitors managed to score a bull’s-eye in all three sections of the challenge. A fiver per definition goes to those printed below who hit the spot with just one or two.



Brectitude: an exaggerated display of moral seriousness in discussion of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union
Pectitude: a posture adopted to show to greatest advantage the muscles of the anterior chest wall.
Hugh King 
 
I-Fi: to use the internet wholly or principally for the purposes of self-aggrandisement; to construct a vainglorious virtual identity
Frank Upton
 
Bodcast: Anthony Gormley statue
George Simmers
 
Abbacus: a loud malediction uttered after a legendary pop group decides against a reunion tour
John O’Byrne 
 
Abbattoir: a place where Swedish bands are sent to be slaughtered
Jane Street
 
Lizerature: the body of publications detailing all aspects of the daily life of Queen Elizabeth II
D.
















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