What is the term for a made up word

The Simpsons has used and coined many neologisms for humorous effect, many of which are only used once. The most famous example is Homer Simpson’s signature annoyed grunt, «D’oh!».

Few of the following made-up words would qualify as neologisms from a strict lexicological perspective due to their extremely limited uses outside of the show. For those that have found their way into regular and common use, the route passes through the considerable fan-base where use of these words carries the prestige of pop-culture literacy among those who catch the references, just as among other cultural groups a clever parallel to a well-known phrase from the literary or rhetorical canon would be acknowledged.

The following is presented, then, as a glossary of words or phrases invented by the show which one or more characters use in regular speech, as though intended as real terms. This does not include names of characters, locations, or products.

A

Absotively notarino

A jokey way of saying «definitely not». «Absotively» is a portmanteau of «absolutely» and «positively». Possibly a variation on the spoonerized phrase «absotively posilutely».

In «Hurricane Neddy», Dr. Foster asks a younger Ned Flanders if he feels angry, to which the younger Ned replies uncertainly, «Absotively notarino».

Adultivity

The state or condition of being an adult.

In «Much Apu About Nothing,» Kearney believes that his fake «Charles Norwood» ID will confirm this for him, thus allowing him to buy beer and cheap cigars.

Al-kee-hol

Marge’s pronunciation of «alcohol» in «There’s No Disgrace Like Home» and «The War of the Simpsons».

Marge: I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there’s a little al-kee-hol in this punch.

America Junior

A term for Canada coined by Homer in «The Bart Wants What It Wants».

Homer: Why should we leave America to visit America Junior?

America’s Wang

A term coined by Homer in reference to Florida’s shape, compared to the rest of the United States, resembling a flaccid penis.

Homer: Florida?! But that’s America’s Wang!

Psychiatrist: They prefer «The Sunshine State».

Anti-booze

A serum featured in «The Last Barfighter». It causes anyone who drinks alcohol to develop a severe headache, sweat abundantly, break out in horns all over the body, and finally throw up. There is an antidote that can be taken as an injection.

Annual Gift Man

The fictitious translation of Santa Claus’s supposed name in Japanese. In Japan he is supposedly thought to live on the Moon. John (voiced by guest star John Waters) mentions the name in the episode «Homer’s Phobia».

Anyhoo / Anywho

Alternative term for ‘anyway’ or ‘anyhow’. Used by multiple characters, particularly Homer and Flanders. Heard in multiple episodes, including (but not necessarily limited to) «So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show», «Homer’s Triple Bypass», «Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song», «Secrets of a Successful Marriage», «And Maggie Makes Three», «Homer the Smithers», «Summer of 4 Ft. 2», «Treehouse of Horror IX», «Viva Ned Flanders», «Beyond Blunderdome», «Kill the Alligator and Run», «Insane Clown Poppy», «The Great Money Caper», «Simple Simpson», «My Big Fat Geek Wedding», «The Way We Weren’t», and «Simpsons Christmas Stories».

Appling

The process of using Photoshop to add rosy «apples» to someone’s cheeks and make them more attractive. Waylon Smithers apples Mr. Burns’ face to make him appear more benevolent on the cover of a newspaper. Seen in «Fraudcast News».

Askaroonie

A joke version of the word «ask».

In Flanders’ Book of Faith, the Q&A section is called «Askaroonie the Nedster».

Assal Horizontology

A term for a medical procedure coined by Dr. Nick Riviera in «King-Size Homer.»

Homer Simpson tries to gain weight to get on workers’ compensation. While prescribing a diet consisting of a steady gorging process for Homer, Dr. Nick suggests that it be combined with assal horizontology. Presumably, he means lying down — or more likely, sitting on your ass in an almost horizontal position. It is also possible that he means to gain so much weight that it causes Homer’s ass to expand horizontally.

Avoision

Kent Brockman’s conflation of the words avoidance and evasion in «Bart the Fink.»

When corrected through his earpiece, Brockman responds to them on-air: «I don’t say evasion, I say avoision.» This is a reference to a William Shatner outtake where he argues with his director over the pronunciation of the word «sabotage»: «You say sab-oh-TAHGE. I say sab-oh-TAGE» (rhyming with the word badge).

The term avoision originated in the literature of the anti-taxation movement in the U.S. in the 1970s; it was coined to get around laws against advocating or providing advice relating to tax evasion.

B

Bagzooka

A bazooka that fires beanbags, as used by Lou in Lisa the Tree Hugger.

Banjologist

An expert in banjo based musical styles.

In the episode «Home Away from Homer», Lisa listens to a radio program on obscure music, and hears the host refer to a guest as a banjologist, using «-ology» as the suffix for the study of a subject (or sometimes the subject itself, although this is technically incorrect).

Bartesque

An invented French word that means «being like Bart» (i.e., mischievous).

Bart: But it involves being a bit underhanded, a bit devious, a bit, as the French say, «Bartesque«.

Basegame

A variant of baseball, but without a ball, offered at Springfield Elementary while the school’s only ball was being repaired. Used by Principal Skinner in «My Big Fat Geek Wedding.»

Bathiola

Mr. Burns’s name for a bath, possibly from «Victrola».

Mr. Burns: I’m going to take a bathiola, and when I get back, one of you better be laughing.

Bazongas

A term for large breasts used by Marge in «Large Marge», after she accidentally got given a boob job. She said to the doctors, «What on Earth have you done?! My maguppies became bazongas!»

Beginualize

A mixture of «actualize» and «begin», used by a counsellor teaching Marge and Maggie the C.R.I.E. method of baby independence when Maggie becomes too clingy. Episode: «Midnight Towboy».

Counsellor: «Now her childhood can beginualize.»

Beginulate

Used by Professor John Frink as part of his pseudo-scientific jargon, merely as a more complicated verb form of «begin».

Its use appears in the «Treehouse of Horror XV» short In the Belly of the Boss:

Frink: «Let the commencement… beginulate!»

Beheadbumped

Bumped on the head. Used in «The Wettest Stories Ever Told,» when Ned Flanders is knocked unconscious by hitting his head on the support beams of the ship’s steerage.

Reverend Lovejoy: Our captain’s Beheadbumped!

Bembarassed

A mispronunciation of «embarrassed» spoken by Ralph Wiggum in «Smart and Smarter».

Bemusement Park

An amusement park that bemuses instead of amuses. Coined by Ned Flanders in «I’m Goin’ to Praiseland.»

Ned: Oh, Maude, I’ve turned your dream of a Christian amusement park into a be-musement park.

Homer: Don’t say that, Ned!

Ned: It is! It’s a bemusement park!

The phrase might also be intended as a play on letter grading from A-musement to B-musement (as in B-movie). Whereas «B-musement» suggests the park is second rate and explains his strong spoken emphasis of the letter «b», «bemusement» suggests the attendees simply fail to understand the religious park’s message.

Betsy Bleedingheart

A person or organization who tries to get sympathy with the public, after the epithet «bleeding-heart liberal».

Mr. Burns: A non-profit organization with oil; I won’t allow it! An oil well doesn’t belong in the hands of some Betsy Bleedingheart or Maynard G. Muskievote!

Blim-blam-blame

A goofy way of saying «blame».

In the Q&A section of Flanders’ Book of Faith, Ned asks, «And who’s to blim-blam-blame for our sins?».

Blingwad

Unclassified transformed matter. Possibly a wad of bling.

Krusty the Clown: I oughta replace it right now with that Chinese cartoon with the robots that turn into… blingwads! But I’m a lazy, lazy man.

(From the episode «The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show».)

Blubber-in-law

This is a term used by Patty and Selma to denigrate Homer. It is a play on «brother-in-law», and the fact that Homer is fat.

Blurst

A word typed by Mr. Burns’ monkeys when they were sitting at typewriters attempting to write a book. They typed «It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times» to the disappointment of Mr. Burns.

Bolognium

An element on a highly inaccurate periodic table at Springfield Elementary. Due to their inability to afford an accurate table, they have to make do with a promotional one from meat company Oscar Mayer, which advertises their product in the information. The atomic weight of Bolognium is known to be either «delicious» or «snacktacular». The real element in that space in the periodic table is molybdenum and the atomic weight is 95.95. The name is presumably derived from polonium, element 84.

Bonus Eruptus

A medical condition coined by Dr. Nick Riviera that is described as «a terrible condition where the skeleton tries to leap out of the mouth and escape the body» in «22 Short Films About Springfield».

The term came to be when a frantic Abe Simpson demanded to see a quack. Abe’s symptoms included being «edgy», having «ants in his pants» and being «discombobulated». Dr. Nick also warned Grandpa that if he didn’t calm down to receive treatment, Grandpa would give himself skin failure. Dr. Nick’s prescribed treatment for Bonus Eruptus was «Trans-dental Electromicide,» which called for a golf-cart motor and a 1000-volt «capacimator». High voltage is applied to the patient’s teeth, presumably until they are either cured or dead.

This is a reference to the common cartoon trope of a skeleton escaping a character’s mouth in fright, and possibly a reference to the Ray Bradbury short story «Skeleton».

Boostafazoo

Physical punishment or comeuppance.

Bart: Burns needs some serious boostafazoo, right, Dad?

Boo-urns

What Smithers tells Burns the angry movie audience is saying after a screening of his film «A Burns for All Seasons».

During the episode «A Star is Burns», Mr. Burns asks his faithful assistant Waylon Smithers if the crowd is booing his blatantly egotistical motion picture. Smithers, ever the yes-man, replies that they are saying «boo-urns» (i.e. «Burns»), and not «boo». When Burns asks for clarification, the crowd replies that they are indeed saying «boo», and not «boo-urns». After the crowd replies, Hans Moleman says that, in fact, he was saying «boo-urns».

Hans Moleman: I was saying «boo-urns…»

note: Has been heard chanted in UCLA’s Paulley Pavilion, cynically, when the basketball team is performing below expectations.

Bovine University

A term for a slaughterhouse used by Troy McClure in a vintage pro-meat/pro-slaughter documentary shown to Lisa’s class from the episode «Lisa the Vegetarian».

Ralph Wiggum: [unclear on the meaning] When I grow up, I’m going to Bovine University!

Brassafrax

Presumably an extremely antiquated cry of submission (as in «Uncle!») used by Montgomery Burns’s mother in the episode «Homer the Smithers». When Smithers wants to regain Burns’s trust, he tells Homer to call Burns’s mother and transfer the call to his office. Smithers’s plan is to rush in and rescue Burns from what will certainly be an awkward phone conversation.

Smithers: Hello, Mrs. Burns? This is Waylon Smithers. I have your son Montgomery on the line…

Mrs. Burns: That improvident lackwit? Always too busy stridin’ about his atom mill to call his own mother. I’ll give him what-fors till he cries brassafrax!

Bumbled-bee

One of Mr. Burns’ seemingly antiquated alternative expressions referring to an existing term (similar to «iced cream», the original name for ice cream). In episode 12 of Season 16, Burns tells Selma, who is in the process of lowering the soft top on his roadster, «Stop that you want-wit! I could get stung by a bumbled-bee!»

C

California Cheeseburger

A sandwich with a baby in the middle, first seen in «The Secret War of Lisa Simpson.»

Chief Wiggum shows a group of touring kids a museum display of a hippie couple who are getting stoned and ready to take a bite of the «California Cheeseburger.»

Capdabbler

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s «The Grinch»:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flungers, capdabblers and smendlers!»

Car Hole

A common man’s term for garage, coined by Moe Szyslak in «The Springfield Connection».

While «Car Hole» appears only twice in the series itself, it is often used by fans to jokingly refer to a garage, or garage-like structure. The phrase first appears in a conversation between Moe Szyslak and Homer Simpson, wherein Moe ridicules Homer for his use of the overly formal word, «garage».

Homer: Hmm. I wonder why he’s so eager to go to the garage?

Moe: The «garage»? Hey fellas, the «garage»! Well, ooh la di da, Mr. French Man.

Homer: Well what do you call it?

Moe: A car hole!

The phrase appears once more as Homer expresses his shock upon discovering a counterfeit jeans outfit has (inexplicably) taken up operation in his garage.

Homer: [gasps] A counterfeit jeans ring operating out of my car hole!

Chazwazer

A fictitious Australian name for the bullfrog.

As the Simpsons depart from Australia, an Australian equivalent of Squeaky-Voiced Teen asks what the strange creature infesting his home country is called. Upon receiving its proper name, he responds, «What? That’s an odd name. I’d have called them chazwazers.»

Cheese-eating surrender monkey

A satirical and insulting phrase, referring to the collaborationist Vichy France regime’s surrender in World War II.

Groundskeeper Willy (teaching French class): «Bonjourrrrrr, you cheese-eating surrender monkeys!»

Chestal

Of, or relating to, the chest.

Bart: I’m all tense through the chestal area!

The word «chestal,» in this sense, first became popular in the 1960s when Woody Allen used it in one of his stand-up comedy routines. It then appeared in the episode «Bart’s Girlfriend».

Also used: «neckal» and «scalpal».

Chester A. Arthuritis

A condition resulting from excitement over studying President Chester A. Arthur. Upon discovering Jebediah Springfield’s past as Hans Sprungfeld, Lisa nervously jokes about having just gotten over her «Chester A. Arthuritis» before coming down with «Jebeditis».

Professor Hurlbut: «Looks like you’ve come down with a serious case of Jebeditis.»

Lisa: «Just as I was getting over my Chester A. Arthuritis.»

Professor Hurlbut: «Heh heh… y-you had arthritis?»

Chimpan-A

An ape. In a musical based on The Planet of the Apes, Troy McClure’s character claimed that he hated all apes from «chimpan-A to chimpanzee», as a pun on chimpanzee and the phrase «A to Z».

Chocotastic

One of the three neglected food groups, along with the Whipped group and the Congealed group, that Homer must concentrate on eating more of in «King-Size Homer».

This word has made its way into international culture, as there are Pop-Tarts available in The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe with the flavor of Chocotastic. (Coincidentally, in the episode, Dr. Nick recommends that Homer use Pop-Tarts to replace bread in sandwiches.)

Clouseauesque

A combination of excessive clumsiness and ridiculously bad luck, in the manner of Peter Sellers’ hapless Inspector Jacques Clouseau. From the episode «The Boy Who Knew Too Much».

The French waiter, who accused Freddy Quimby of attacking him, says in the court room, «This is an outrage! I am not a clumsy clouseauesque waiter!» He then falls out of the window into an open truck of rat traps.

Cohuhtage Cheese

Bart’s mispronunciation of «cottage cheese» in «The Heartbroke Kid». Bart was unaware of many healthy foods such as this when he was forced to live a less unhealthy lifestyle, and he consequently had no idea how to pronounce the food.

Commie-Nazi

Fictional villains Rainier Wolfcastle faces in one of his McBain movies.

While delivering UNICEF pennies to «the puny children who need them», McBain’s airplane is attacked. He picks up the radio and says, «McBain to base, under attack by Commie-Nazis.» These «Commie-Nazis» combine Communism and Nazi ideology, and use a mix of the Swastika and Hammer and Sickle on a red background as their standard.

This phrase has long precedent in the form of «Commu-Nazi» as used by Walter Winchell. However, many viewers believe that this is simply a combination of two over-used action movie villains.

It may also be a reference to the Superman comics during World War II pitting the superhero against the «Japanazis», a cross between America’s two principal enemies in the war.

Crantastic

A reference to an Ocean Spray advertising device, a portmanteau of cranberry and fantastic. Said by the squeaky-voiced teen as he is swept away by a tide of cranberry juice in «Homer and Apu».

Crap factory

Invented by Bart as a dysphemism for «stomach» after Nelson takes exception to his saying «tummy.»

Bart: «It’s my tummy!» (Nelson glares at him) «I mean stomach! Gut! Crap factory!»

Craptacular

A portmanteau of «crap» and «spectacular.»

«Craptacular» was used by Bart to describe the supposedly defective Christmas lights that Homer purchased in «Miracle on Evergreen Terrace». It is one of the more frequently used made-up words from The Simpsons, and, like a few others, was in use before The Simpsons popularized it. Currently used for a yearly contest on the Howard Stern show, where contestants eat and eat, then weigh their waste over 24 hours.

Crayola Oblongata

The procedure of putting a crayon into the brain via the nasal cavity, a portmanteau of crayon producing company Crayola and the part of the brainstem called the medulla oblongata.

Crisitunity

A portmanteau created by Homer when Lisa tells him that the Chinese have the same word for «crisis» and «opportunity». The actual Chinese words for those terms are different but share a common character (危機 for «crisis» and 機會 for «opportunity»).

From «Fear of Flying».

Cromulent

A word meaning valid or acceptable, coined by David X. Cohen for the Simpsons episode «Lisa the Iconoclast».

When schoolteacher Edna Krabappel hears the Springfield town motto «A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man,» she comments she’d never heard of the word embiggens before moving to Springfield. Miss Hoover replies, «I don’t know why; it’s a perfectly cromulent word».

Later in the same episode, while talking about Homer’s audition for the role of town crier, Principal Skinner states «He’s embiggened that role with his cromulent performance.»

Based on the context in which Miss Hoover uses the word cromulent, we can interpret that she intends it to mean «legitimate», «applicable» or «appropriate.» Principal Skinner seems to use it to mean «more than acceptable» or «more than adequate»; these usages would also (in an assumed lexical context) satisfy Miss Hoover’s use of the word. Perhaps both characters intend it to mean «authentic», which would validate both uses of the word (e.g. «it’s a perfectly authentic word» and «he embiggened that role with his authentic performance»). The word has a sort of recursive irony about it: as a made-up word it possesses none of the qualities that it describes.

Both «embiggen» and «cromulent» were quickly adopted and used by Simpsons fans. «Cromulent» has taken on an ironic meaning, to say that something is not at all legitimate and in fact spurious. Indeed, the DVD commentary for «Lisa the Iconoclast» makes a point of reinforcing that «embiggen» and «cromulent» are completely made up by the writers and have since taken on a life of their own via the Internet and other media.

In the 2005 Xbox game Jade Empire, the player meets a British-colonialist-styled outsider who uses made-up mispronounced words. When the player confronts the man with this, the man claims that one of the words he used was «cromulent».

«Cromulent» has since appeared in Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English (lookup via reference.com). Some sources have misheard the word as «promulent».

Crotch dot

A red dot that appears on one’s crotch, and is thought to be fatal (Chief Wiggum’s uncle died of Crotch Dot). Seymour Skinner was suspected of having this disease, although in reality, it was a laser pointer used as a prank by Bart. From «The Dad Who Knew Too Little». Compare to «crotch rot», a slang term for jock itch.

Chief Wiggum: «Hey, you better get that red dot checked out; my uncle died of crotch dot!»

D

Dash Hole

Another name for the cigarette lighter power socket.

This name was used by the automotive appliance salesman when asking Homer what he had plugged into his Dash Hole. From «Brake My Wife, Please.»

Dealie (dealy)

A word that can be used in place of any noun. Sometimes used as a placeholder for an object whose name does not immediately spring to mind.

Homer: «Marge, where’s that… metal… dealie… you use to… dig… food?»

Used in countless episodes throughout the series.

Debigulator

A device for shrinking a person to microscopic size.

A Professor Frink-like character uses the debigulator to shrink Lisa to microscopic size in «The Genesis Tub», one of the stories in «Treehouse of Horror VII».

Deceleratrix

The service brakes on a car.

Mr. Burns attempts to drive a car for the first time while proclaiming he is sure the owners’ manual will instruct him as to which lever is the velocitator and which one is the deceleratrix. The word is formed by changing the word «decelerator» from the Latin masculine to feminine. From «Homer the Smithers»

Dickety

Grandpa Simpson’s made-up word for the number twenty in the episode «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish».»

Abe: Now, my story begins in nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say «dickety» ’cause the Kaiser had stolen our word «twenty». I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles…

The word may have a faux «old timer» feel because of its similarity to the words «dicker» and lickety as in «lickety split.» «Dicker» is a word for «bargain» that’s sometimes associated with rural or antiquated settings.

In the Latin American Spanish dub the word used is «tijiri», which has no actual meaning or similarity to another word.

The German dub uses «zwickig», which also has no meaning, but sounds similar to «zwanzig» («twenty»).

The Italian dub used «ambarabà», which is a nonsense word found in a nursery rhyme.

The term pokes fun at the common habit of replacing words during the anti-German sentiment of World War I, such as the replacing of «Sauerkraut» with «Liberty Cabbage» (according to Grandpa, Liberty Cabbage was, in turn, known as «Super Slaw»).

Diddly

(Also spelled diddily), Ned Flanders’ characteristic non-word.

Generally speaking, «diddly«, though not in itself a made-up word, is used by Ned Flanders in what linguists call a filled pause, a non-word which a speaker uses to take up time or space in a sentence, and which are sometimes used for emphasis. Flanders often uses «diddly» as an alliteration in his sentences, i.e. «What can I diddly-do you for?» or «Dee-diddly-lighted!» Flanders also seems to use filled pauses as a crutch to avoid swearing, as in «son of a diddly…», until he finally snaps in «Hurricane Neddy» when the inept townspeople of Springfield, in a disastrous attempt to rebuild his house, push him too far: «Calm down, Neddilly-diddily-diddily-diddily… They did their best… Shoddilly-iddily-iddily-diddly… Gotta be nice… hostility-ilitybilitydility… aaaw hell diddly ding dong crap! Can’t you morons do anything right?!»

Occasionally, Flanders will use «diddly» as a tmesis such as in the episode «Summer of 4 Ft. 2» in his note at the summer house to the Simpsons («Wel-diddly-elcome», to which Homer responds, «He actually wrote ‘diddly'»).

It was also used as a familial word when the ‘Flanders Clan’ has a reunion; José Flanders says when meeting Homer, «Buenos ding-dong-diddly días, señor» (although Lord Thistlewick Flanders has to be prompted to say it, and does so reluctantly).

In the Latin American Spanish dub, «diddly» is often translated as «-irijillo», an overly elaborate and ridiculous diminutive (e.g. «Perfectirijillo»).

Disease Box

A term for a box in which a contagious person sat and to which other people would come in order to try to contract the disease.

In «Milhouse of Sand and Fog», Maggie caught the chicken pox and Homer put her in a box so that the neighbourhood kids could catch it before they grew up.

He noted that «As with all disease boxes, results may vary.»

Doctorb

Homer, in need of a triple bypass, sees an infomercial showcasing the surgical «talents» of Dr. Nick. In the ad, Dr. Nick gives the (presumably) toll-free number as, «1-600-DOCTORB», going on to explain that «…The B is for ‘bargain’!» It is pronounced /ˈdɔkˌtoːɻb/.

Dodgerock

A game of dodgeball played with a rock instead of a ball. At least one (brief) match was played by Nelson Muntz and Milhouse.

Doggie Heaven

A supposed version of Heaven for dogs only. In «Dog of Death», when the Simpson family feared that Santa’s Little Helper would die from his stomach condition, Homer tried to console Bart and Lisa by telling them of this supposed afterlife. He described it as «the most wonderful place in the world», and stated that there are mountains of bones there, «you can’t turn around without sniffing another dog’s butt», and «all the best dogs are there», including the dog who portrayed Old Yeller, and eight dogs who portrayed Lassie.

Bart responded by asking if there was a Doggie Hell, and Homer responded in the affirmative, saying that a heaven couldn’t exist without a corresponding hell.

Doggie Hell

Allegedly, this is a dog-exclusive version of Hell. In «Dog of Death», when Homer told Bart and Lisa about «Doggie Heaven» in an attempt to reassure them when the family believed Santa’s Little Helper was dying, Bart asked if there was a Doggie Hell.

Homer replied in the affirmative, stating that a heaven couldn’t exist without a hell, and Bart asked who was in there. Homer had trouble thinking of an answer, but eventually decided on Hitler’s dog, Nixon’s dog, and a mean dog who portrayed Lassie but mauled Timmy’s actor.

D’oh!

An exclamation of annoyance often uttered by Homer.

In scripts and episode titles, D’oh is referred to as «annoyed grunt«¹.

It may be argued that «D’oh» is not a Simpsons neologism, as actor Dan Castellaneta based the phrase on James Finlayson’s similar utterance in many Laurel & Hardy films; however, Finlayson did not exclaim the term as Castellaneta does, but used it as more of a muttered whine.

Dollareydoo

A term to describe Australian Dollars. In Bart vs. Australia, when the father of the Australian boy, whom Bart had called collect, saw the bill for 900 dollars, he exclaimed «900 Dollareydoos?!» and asked his son if he had accepted the call from America. When the Australian boy replies that he’d only accepted the charges because he thought it was urgent, the father confronts Bart over the phone, only to learn his son had fallen victim to a prank.

• It is likely that the term «Dollareydoo» is a reference to the aboriginal instrument from Australia, the Didgeridoo or didgeridu.

Don’t have a cow, man!

An exclamation and catchphrase of Bart that implies that the subject should calm down, or not get worked up about something. It was brought into pop culture mainly by merchandise, as is evidenced by the fact that it is only uttered by Bart on the show a handful of times in the first season («There’s No Disgrace Like Home» and «The Call of the Simpsons»), and therefore were not self-parodying uses.

In the third season’s «Bart the Murderer», Eat My Shorts and Don’t Have a Cow are horses in a race. It isn’t used again by Bart until the eighth season. In «The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show», in response to Homer’s cartoon debut, Lisa explains, «You can’t be cool just by spouting off a bunch of worn-out buzzwords.» Bart replies, «Don’t have a cow, Lis!» In «The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase», Bart sings it along with «eat my shorts!» as part of his musical introduction in the variety show spin-off.

Occasionally, another character has uttered the line. In another self-parodying use, Apu, a vegetarian, shows off his t-shirt with the saying surrounding an actual cow in a no symbol in the seventh season’s «Lisa the Vegetarian». In the seventh season’s «Summer of 4 Ft. 2», After Bart’s complaining that Lisa is acting like him to get friends, Lisa is overheard to say «Don’t have a cow, man!» (and later «¡Ay, caramba!») to which Marge replies, «You haven’t said that in four years. Let Lisa have it.»

In the eighth season’s «Hurricane Neddy», Ned insultingly mocks «Don’t have a cow, man!» in front of Bart while he lashes out at at him after Bart stood up for Marge and told Ned to back off, which causes Bart to fearfully reply that he is “shocked and applaud”.

In the 19th season’s «Apocalypse Cow», after raising a young bull to adulthood and saving it from the slaughterhouse, Bart comments that he can finally say he «had a cow».

Don’ter

The opposite of a doer. Appeared in Lisa the Tree Hugger.

Bart: Hey, some people in this family are doers, and some [he looks at Lisa] are don’ters.

In the Czech dubbing it sounds like that: «Někteří z nás prostě vydělávaj a jiní se flákaj.» which is translated as: «Some of us are earning and others are messing about.»

Doobob

Mr. Burns’s word for a generic object that is mysterious to him.

Doodily

(Also spelled doodly), A Flanders word that is compatible with diddly.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily!»

Flanders is afraid to say the word «sex» even if kids aren’t around. Instead, he calls it «doodily«.

Dorkus Molorkus

Used by Bart, «Dorkus Molorkus» is supposedly a Latin phrase meaning «dork». Given as the reason Lisa was unaware of the National Grammar Rodeo.

Bart: You are, as they say in Latin, a Dorkus Molorkus.

Lisa: That’s not Latin…

Double-Bacon Geniusburger

A very intelligent person, used as an alternate lyric in Homer’s version of the Grinch song.

«You’re a Hero, Homer J. You’re as crafty as a skunk! They’ll thank you in the morning, for stealing Flanders’ junk, Homer JAAAY! You’re a double-bacon geniusburger, and just a little drunk!»

From the episode «‘Tis the Fifteenth Season».

Drunkening

The process of becoming drunk, a gerund form of the pseudo-verb «to drunken».

Moe tells Homer he’s late for his drunkening. From «Brake My Wife, Please».

Dumbening

The process of becoming dumber.

In the episode «Lisa the Simpson,» Lisa is writing in her diary after speaking to Grandpa about «the Simpson Gene», which supposedly makes every male in the Simpson family stupid.

Lisa: [writing] Dear log, can it be true? Does every Simpson go through a process of dumbening? Hey, that’s not how you spell ‘dumbening’. Wait a minute… ‘dumbening’ isn’t even a word!

Dumpster Buns

Cinnamon buns thrown out into a dumpster.

In the episode «Thank God It’s Doomsday», Homer wants to go to the mall to eat the day-old throwaways from Cinnabon. While at the mall, Bart and Lisa run into their father eating out of the dumpster.

Homer: Mmm… dumpster buns.

Dungeonarium

Mr. Burns’s word for a dungeon.

E

Eat my Shirt / Eat our Shirts

What Flanders thinks Bart says when he says Eat my Shorts.

Bart: Eat my shorts, Shelbyville.

Bart and Homer: Eat my shorts!

Flanders: Yes, eat all of our shirts.

Eat my Shorts

Bart’s favorite insult.

Bart: Eat my shorts, Shelbyville.

Bart and Homer: Eat my shorts!

Eddie Punch-clock

A dismissive phrase describing the common man, used by Mr. Burns.

Eedily

A variant of «doodily» used by Flanders when he’s nervous or screwing up his words.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily!

Electromicide

According to Dr. Nick Riviera, the only treatment for Bonus Eruptus.

Dr. Nick’s procedure is trans-dental electromicide, a process of introducing severe electrical currents into the body through the mouth. The word «electromicide» is possibly a conflation of the prefix electro- with «homicide».

El Fisa-chiatrist

In Havana Wild Weekend, Homer is eager to «put the Spanish [he] learned on I Love Lucy to use». He starts to improvise with «Lucy, you need to see el fisa-chiatrist», to which a Cuban guy responds, «Excuse me sir, we’re perfectly able to pronounce ‘psychiatrist’.»

Embiggen

To make something better. The opposite of «belittle».

From a famous saying by Jebediah Springfield/Hans Sprungfeld: «A Noble Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man», evoking the manner in which its antonym, belittle, was coined by Thomas Jefferson. It is likely a creative conflation of big with the word embolden (to render bold; to hearten, to encourage). The quotation appears on the statue of Jebediah Springfield in front of City Hall.

American actor and writer Wil Wheaton frequently uses this word on his blog when he posts thumbnailed images.

Examples of use:

• «He’s embiggened that role.»
• «Patriots will embiggen America.»

On this wiki, the stub template mentions embiggening.

Esquilax

A legendary horse born with the head of a rabbit and the body of a rabbit.

In the season 6 episode Lisa’s Wedding, Chief Wiggum, performing as Renaissance actor ‘Friar Wiggum’, explains to Lisa, «And here, out of the mists of history, the legendary Esquilax! A horse with the head of a rabbit, and… the body of a rabbit. Oh, it’s galloping away!»

F

Fantastipotamus

An animal located in a «different» zoo that contains creatures that people like Homer have never heard of.

Ron Howard: Look, I’d love to help you out, Homer, but I’m taking my kids to the zoo.

Homer: That’s great. Even big stars take their kids to the zoo.

Ron Howard: Well, it’s a different zoo, containing animals you’ve never heard of.

Howard’s daughter: Daddy, we’re missing the fantastipotamus. She only sings twice a day.

A portmanteau of the words «fantastic» and «hippopotamus».

Farkbot

As in, «What the farkbot?» Said by a frustrated Bart Simpson during the opening scroll of Cosmic Wars.

Most likely one of the writers is a member of Fark.com. Commonly, submitters to the site replace choice words, including certain expletives, with «Fark» (as in «What the Fark?»).

Fartsy

Homer’s word for the less-than-intellectual subject of chili, as opposed to the «artsy» interests of Marge. Homer considers «fartsy» subjects more appealing. This word is heard in «El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)».

Fatard

The ballet teacher’s name for Bart’s ballet outfit.

Conflation of the words «fat» and «leotard».

Faxtrola

What Burns calls a fax machine in «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish».»

A portmanteau of the words «fax» and «Victrola».

Femail Carrier

According to Lisa in «Homer’s Night Out», this is the appropriate word for a woman who works as a mail carrier.

Femailman

A word for a woman in the mail delivery business, used by Bart in «Homer’s Night Out». Lisa corrects him, instead urging him to say femailperson.

Finded

An incorrect past tense of «find», as opposed to the correct «found». Used by Ralph Wiggum in «This Little Wiggy».

Firehose sweating

A condition characterised by excessive perspiration that spurted out in the manner of a firehose. It was one of the side effects of the anti-booze in «The Last Barfighter».

Fishbulb

Refers to the Mr. Sparkle logo, which was a combination of a fish logo and a lightbulb logo. This led to an appearance uncannily like Homer Simpson’s head. This has led Homer to be nicknamed «Fishbulb» by Bart.

Fishmas

Part of «Merry Fishmas!», shouted by Mr. Burns in «Homer vs. Dignity».

Flander-doodles

A term coined by Ned Flanders to refer to his testicles, coming from his habit of saying «doodle» and his last name (minus the S).

When a robot punched him in the crotch in «Treehouse of Horror», Ned said, «Ow, my Flander-doodles!»

Flanswered

A combination of the words «Flanders» and «answered«.

Homer: Single women of Springfield, your prayers have been Flanswered. Ned Flanswered, that is.

It is also played as a word during Flanders’ lonely Scrabble game. From «Alone Again, Natura-Diddily».

Floor Pie

A pie that is on the floor.

In the episode «Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood», Homer is lured into a trap set up by Bart in which the bait is a pie on the floor («Ooooh, floor pie!»). This saying has been adapted by some for various objects (e.g. «floor candy» or «floor clothes»). Floor [word] is a term used for an object which is on the floor when it probably shouldn’t be.

Swedish-American sculptor Claes Oldenburg also created a large sculpture of a piece of cake to be displayed on the floor of a gallery, entitled Floor Cake.

Flunjer

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s «The Grinch»:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!»

Foodbag

A derogatory term in «Burns, Baby Burns» used by Mr. Burns to describe Homer. It is used while they are eating a lavish dinner together, thus it is likely referring to the amount of food Homer was eating at the time and/or his weight in general.

Burns: You, foodbag, do you have a son?

Foodrinkery

As seen on the sign for «TGI McScratchy’s Goodtime Foodrinkery» in the episode Itchy & Scratchy Land.

Forfty

A portmanteau of the words «forty» and «fifty». Possibly slang for «forty-five».

In the episode «Homer the Vigilante», Homer mentions the word as he responds to Kent Brockman about statistics.

Kent Brockman: Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent?

Homer Simpson: Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.

Oddly enough, the captions read «forty» or «fourteen».

Foundling-a-ding

Flanders’ euphemistic word for a foundling, or abandoned child (Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily).

Frinkahedron

Professor Frink’s name for a cube (a.k.a. hexahedron).

In the Halloween episode «Treehouse of Horror VI», Professor Frink tries to explain Homer’s disappearance into the third dimension. A possible real-life analogue to the Frinkahedron is the tesseract.

Frink: (at chalkboard) Here is an ordinary square.

Chief Wiggum: Whoa, whoa, slow down, egghead!

Frink: But, suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe, along the hypothetical Z-axis there.

Marge, Lisa, Bart, Ned, Reverend Lovejoy, Chief Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Patty & Selma: [all gasp] (as Frink draws a cube)

Frink: This forms a three-dimensional object known as a cube or a Frinkahedron, in honor of its discoverer.

Homer: Help me! Are you helping me, or are you going on and on?

Frink: Oh, right. And, of course, within, we find the doomed individual.

Frinkiac 7

The name for a computer created by Professor Frink in «Much Apu About Nothing».

Frogurt

A phrase for frozen yogurt used by a shopkeeper in «Treehouse of Horror III». Attestation of the word pre-dates The Simpsons.

Fudrucker

A swear used by Marge during «The President Wore Pearls». When the police show up shortly after she says it, she thinks that they have come to arrest her for saying it. It may be a reference to the Fuddruckers chain of restaurants or alternatively a semi-concealed curse.

Führerific

A conflation of «führer» and «terrific».

This is how Bart describes what is claimed to be Hitler’s car in the episode «Bart Carny».

Bart: It’s Führerific.

G

Gamblor

The name Homer gives to the monstrous gambling vice that has metaphorically «enslaved» Marge in «$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling).» The creature is purported to have neon claws.

Garbagewater

In «Trash of the Titans», Homer spills some detritus-laced liquid from the bottom of the garbage can on his slipper while taking out the trash and coins this word, as in, «eww! Garbagewater!»

Gibby Gabby

Marge’s name for the Albanian language, as uttered upon hearing the dialog from the movie «Kosovo Autumn». From the episode «Home Away from Homer».

Glavin

A word used by Professor Frink when he’s muttering. In one episode while he’s shocked he says, «Great glavin in a glass!» or «Good glavin!» It is most often heard when Frink is in pain like «Oh, so much pain in the glavin!» (pronounced / ˈglejvn̩/) This is probably an adaptation of Jerry Lewis’s interjection «froyndleyven!», which, in turn, is presumed to be Yiddish semi-nonsense roughly meaning «happytime!» (cf. standard German «Freund», friend; «Freude», joy; «Leben», life). The similarity to Slavic words for ‘head’ (golova, glava, glowa) does not account for the vowels or ‘n’ and is probably coincidental. Lewis’s portrayal of the Nutty Professor is considered by many Simpsons fans to be partial inspiration for Frink’s character, and Lewis did a guest voice in one episode as Frink’s father.

Frink: That meteor is headed straight for us, with the fire, and the impact, and the hundred percent chance of pain!… Pain in the glavin!!

Alternate spelling: glaven or glayvin.

Groin-Grabbingly

A phrase used by Homer in the episode «Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?».

Lisa: Hmm. What’s the English equivalent for [drools like Homer]? I’d say… transcendent.

Homer: How about groin-grabbingly transcendent?

Lisa: Uh… I don’t think so.

Homer: We make a good team. A groin-grabbingly good team.

Gyme

Homer’s mispronunciation of the word «gym» in «King of the Hill». Due to his lack of acquaintanceship with exercise culture, he was not aware of the proper pronunciation of the word.

H

Ha Ha!

A common laugh from Nelson Muntz when he takes note of one’s failure.

Heckhole

A euphemism for the term «hellhole», which comes from «heck», which is a euphemism for all meanings of «hell» except the place.

In «Cape Feare», Sideshow Bob refers to prison as a «dank, urine-soaked hellhole». The police replied, «We object to the term ‘urine-soaked hellhole’ when you could have said, ‘peepee-soaked heckhole.'»

Hey-dilly-ho

Ned Flanders’ favorite greeting. Variations include «Hi-dilly ho», «Hi-diddly-ho», and «Hi-dilly-hey».

Hi, everybody!

Dr. Nick’s characteristic greeting, adopted as a casual hello by fans.

Holy Flurking Schnit

A vulgar exclamation used by Kang.

Homerhol

While in rehab for drunk driving (framed by Homer), Marge realizes she doesn’t belong there, and exclaims, «I’m a Homer-holic!» Otto interjects, “Whoa, man, you’re drinkin’ Homerhol? I’ll take a swig!!!”

Homersexual

During a routine disciplinary visit to Principal Skinner’s office, Bart must call Moe’s Tavern looking for his father, Homer. But when Moe answers the phone, Bart preempts the original purpose of the call and substitutes one of his trademark prank-calls. Instead of asking for his father «Homer Simpson,» Bart asks for «Homer Sexual.» With the prank thus launched, Bart quickly hands the phone to the Principal, who is shocked and dismayed to hear Moe Szyslak’s resulting tirade.

Later, when Homer marks Skinner as a possible mate for Selma, an imaginary heads-up display seen from Homer’s point of view (a spoof of The Terminator movies) identifies Skinner as a possible «homer-sexual.»

Though not exactly the same, Homer proclaims it is time to «get Homererotic» when he is having himself photographed in suggestive poses for a gift portfolio for Marge.

More recently the term «homersexual» has been used as a parody antonym for the word «metrosexual» (which means a heterosexual with stereotypical gay habits); in this context, «homersexual» refers to a gay person with stereotypical straight habits.

Homer Tax

Homer’s phrase for a tax which he pays. Lisa corrects him by telling him he’s thinking of the homeowner tax.

Homer: Let the bears pay the bear tax, I pay the Homer Tax!

Hors Dovers

Homer’s mispronunciation of «hors d’oeuvres,» as heard in «The War of the Simpsons.»

Hoyvin-Mayvin

A secret project by the Motherloving Sugar Corporation to get the town of Springfield addicted to sugar in the episode «Sweets and Sour Marge.» The project was named after the vocal ramblings of its creator, Professor Frink. The Professor was also the project’s whistleblower.

Hypohemia

Mr. Burns’s rare blood disease, for which he needed a transfusion of Bart’s blood in the episode «Blood Feud.» The word stems from a combination of hypo (Greek prefix for «under» or «below») and hemia (Greek for «blood»). The proper term for lack of circulatory fluids, however, is hypovolemia.

Hurricane Vomiting

Supposedly a synonym for projectile vomiting. It was one of the effects of the «anti-booze» in «The Last Barfighter».

Hurty

A synonym for «painful» used by Ralph Wiggum in a few episodes, including «Skinner’s Sense of Snow».

I

Iddly

Sometimes spelled «iddily», this is another one of Ned Flanders’s words, similar to «diddly» and «doodly», though not used as often.

In «Hurricane Neddy», Ned uses the phrase «Shoddily-iddily—iddily-diddly.» while he is still trying to remain calm before he eventually explodes in a fit of pent-up rage in front of everybody after they crudely rebuild his house.

In «In the Name of the Grandfather», Ned murmured, «Iddly diddly» to himself over and over again while in the hot tub.

Immigant

Moe Szyslak’s mispronunciation of the word «immigrant». He used the word when complaining about immigrants’ poor understanding of English in «Much Apu About Nothing», ironically proving his English to be unrefined itself.

Introubulate

The act of getting someone into trouble. From «I’m with Cupid» where Kent Brockman reads a story about how Apu is giving his wife extravagant presents for Valentine’s Day, and the rest of the town’s wives are annoyed at their husbands for their comparative romantic lameness.

Brockman: One Springfield man is treating his wife to an extra-special Valentine’s Day this year, and introubulating the rest of us.

Perhaps related to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s neologism enturbulate, meaning to bring into turbulent or troublesome conditions.

Italian-American Sauce Bread

A phrase used to refer to pizza after the original word was somehow construed as politically incorrect. Seymour Skinner changed the item on Springfield Elementary School’s menu to this name in «I Am Furious (Yellow)», pleasing Luigi Risotto.

J

Japanimation

Bart’s term for Japanese anime, from «HOMЯ». When the Simpsons attend an animation festival, Bart watches an episode of the Transformazoids anime, which he calls «Japanimation».

Jebeditis

A condition resulting from excitement over Jebediah Springfield. When Hollis Hurlbut, curator of the Springfield Historical Society, returns to Lisa with Johnny Cakes, she is acting strangely having just found «The Secret Confessions of Jebediah Springfield» hidden in Springfield’s fife. Lisa attempts to disguise her behavior as «just the excitement of studying Jebediah,» which Hurlbut characterizes jokingly as «Jebeditis.»

Professor Hollis: «Looks like you’ve come down with a serious case of Jebeditis.»

Lisa: «Just as I was getting over my Chester A. Arthritis.»

Professor Hollis: «Heh heh… y-you had arthritis?»

Jebus

According to Matt Groening, The Simpsons writers have an ongoing competition to write a line that «most represents Homer at his singularly most stupid». Most likely the current champion is Homer’s faux term for Jesus, first mentioned in the episode «Missionary: Impossible.» When asked to be a missionary, Homer replies, «I’m no missionary, I don’t even believe in Jebus!». When the plane that is carrying Homer is taking off, he cries, «Save me Jebus!»

Later, in The Simpsons Movie, Homer says «Praise Jebus!» as the Simpson family goes to church in the middle of a sermon.

In popular usage on many discussion boards, such as Fark.com and Guardian Unlimited Talk, it is often deliberately used by posters as an implied «cut» or «chop» against Christians, particularly fundamentalist Christians from the Southern United States. Sometimes spelled «Jeebus» in this context.

«Jebus» has often been the Papua New Guinean patois for Jesus.

Jiminy Jillikers

A phrase used by Radioactive Man’s sidekick Fallout Boy, this phrase featured largely in the portion of the Radioactive Man film that was shot in Springfield. According to Radioactive Man, it is a form of profanity.

Johnny Come-not-lies

A phrase used by Principal Skinner, when the teachers didn’t show up for the last day before Christmas break.

Johnny Lunchpail

A dismissive phrase describing the common man, used by Mr. Burns in «Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish».

Juice Loosener

A type of juicer that Troy McClure advertised in «Marge in Chains» that was popular, despite its seemingly inefficient juicing abilities.

These were manufactured in Osaka, Japan, and a factory worker coughed into several boxes containing juice looseners that were then shipped to Springfield, starting the Osaka Flu epidemic.

Among the people who bought the looseners were Homer, Principal Skinner (to give to Agnes) and Patty and Selma (to give to each other for their birthday).

Jumping Box

Used by Mr. Burns when describing a television.

Mr. Burns: Jumping box, television, picto-cube, just crank it up!

Juzz

Bart’s mispronunciation of the word «jazz.» From the episode «Jazzy and the Pussycats».

Bart: «I need you to teach me all about the world of juzz.»

Lisa: «It’s jazz! Jazz! You don’t even know the name of the thing you’re stealing from me!»

K

Kancel

A deliberate misspelling of the word «cancel.» When Marge led a group opposed to the violence of The Itchy & Scratchy Show and Krusty the Clown’s showing of the series, a protester held a sign labelled «Kancel Krusty.» Later, when members of the group protested the nudity of Michelangelo’s David, the protester changed the sign to say «Kancel David.» Also featured in the title of the episode «Krusty Gets Kancelled».

Killbot Factory

Kent Brockman’s openly-declared «more alarmist» name for the United States Army, an institution Brockman shockingly describes as a place where «hundreds of men are given weapons and trained to kill!» The term «killbot» has gone on to be widely used in Futurama.

Klassic

A deliberately-misspelled version of the word «classic» seen in Krusty Komedy Klassic. It was misspelled to alliterate with Krusty’s name, but the audience booed and threw things at him because the initials were KKK (which is also the name of a white supremacist group). Krusty himself noticed the troublesome initials seconds before getting booed and noted to himself, «KKK? That’s no good!».

Knifey Spooney

A fictional Australian barroom game made in the episode «Bart vs. Australia», in a parody of a scene from the movie Crocodile Dundee, Bart is confronted by an Australian local who shows him a spoon and says «This is a knife!» Most often used in the phrase «I see you’ve played knifey-spooney before.»

Knifey Wifey

A name used by Chief Wiggum for any woman who is known to have attacked her husband with a knife.

Wiggum: Here we are, 123 Fake Street. Home of knifey wifey.

Knowitallism

Knowitallism (also Know-it-all-ism) is a fictitious word made up by the faculty of Springfield Elementary School to describe Lisa Simpson’s precocious personality. The students break into the school’s vault and find their permanent records and when Lisa reads that her teachers have labelled her as suffering from «knowitallism», she exclaims, «That’s not even a word!»

Knowledgeum

The Springfield Knowledgeum, a science museum «Where science is explained with brightly-colored balls», was visited by the Simpsons in the episode «This Little Wiggy».

Komedy

A deliberately-misspelled version of the word «comedy» seen in Krusty Komedy Klassic. It, like «Klassic», was misspelled to alliterate with Krusty’s name, but the audience booed and threw things at him because the initials were KKK (which is also the name of a white supremacist group). Krusty himself noticed the troublesome initials seconds before getting booed and noted to himself, «KKK? That’s no good!».

Krisis

A word used by Kent Brockman to assist in alliteratively describing the crisis that occurred at Kamp Krusty when it descended into a state of anarchy after a general revolt by abused campers.

Kwyjibo

Kwyjibo / ˈkwɪdʒiˌbo/ is a word made up by Bart during a game of Scrabble with his family. In the episode «Bart the Genius,» Bart puts «kwyjibo» on the board, scoring 116 points (22 points plus Triple Word Score plus 50 points for using all seven of his letters.) When Homer demands Bart say what a kwyjibo is, Bart replies, «A big, dumb, balding North American ape…with no chin.» Marge chimes in, «…and a short temper.» At this point, realizing it was about him, Homer chases Bart away, causing him to exclaim, «Uh-oh! Kwyjibo on the loose!»

‘Kwyjibo’ was used as one of the aliases of the creator of the Melissa worm, and is the name of a yo-yo string trick. ‘Kweejibo’ is a handmade clothing company in San Francisco.

Recently, Yahoo’s online version of Scrabble was advertised on the Yahoo home page with a visual representation of letter tiles spelling out K-W-Y-J-I-B-O. Kwyjibo is also the name of a puzzle involving a Scrabble board in The Simpsons Scene It.

On another James L. Brooks-produced animated series, The Critic, Duke Phillips also made up a fictional word in Scrabble: quyzbuk. Unlike Bart, Duke was able to immediately legitimize the word by contacting Noah Webster to have the word added to Webster’s Dictionary, defining it to mean «a big problem». When he found out no one was using his other word «Dukelicious», he sadly called the situation a «Duketastrophe.» This episode, as well as «Bart The Genius,» were written by Jon Vitti, which would explain the similarities.

A similar scene took place in the Dilbert animated series during a Scrabble match between Dilbert and the powerful supercomputer Comp-U-Comp. Comp-U-Comp’s first move was to lay down all its seven tiles randomly, spelling wipqozn; it then used its control of worldwide computer systems to immediately bring the word into circulation (in newscasts, for example). In meaning and usage, «wipqozn» seems roughly equivalent to «crap.»

L

Lamarella

A lame female (a pun on Cinderella).

Bart: Skanks for nothin’, Lamarella.

Land Cow

How an early Springfield settler describes a buffalo after seeing one for the first time, in the episode «Lisa the Iconoclast». In the film Young Jebediah Springfield, which relates the founding of Springfield, the group of migrants see a wild buffalo, with one of them proclaiming, «It’s some sort of land cow!» Presumably a reference to sea cows, a term for manatees.

In the video game The Simpsons: Hit and Run, when driving with Cletus Spuckler he will yell «Move it, Land Cow!» upon hitting something.

Land Monster

An alternative name for «groundhog», coined by an Adam-like Homer in the episode «Simpsons Bible Stories.»

Land of Chocolate

Germany, as described by one of the new owners of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in «Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk.»

Lard-ho

Yelled by the Sea Captain when he spots Homer.

Learnatorium

«The Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium», the new name for Burns’ germ warfare laboratory.

Learnding

Ralph Wiggum’s mispronunciation of «learning», as heard in «Lisa Gets an «A»».

Liberty Log

«Liberty log», according to Abe Simpson, was the name given to sushi during the second World War, and no one ever heard of it. This is similar to the term «Freedom Fries».

Little Horse

A racing greyhound. The phrase started in Two Dozen and One Greyhounds on a banner outside the Springfield Dog track, which read: Just Think of Them as Little Horses. Homer adopts the phrase…

Homer: Come on, you little horse!

LSD

«Love for my son and daughters». In Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily, Marge, apparently clueless about the drug that shares these initials, tells a social worker that LSD is the only thing she’s high on.

Lupper

When Bart and Lisa embarrass their parents while having brunch, Homer decides to leave and go to Moe’s, stating he will see them at «lupper» (a portmanteau of «lunch» and «supper»). This rather obvious parallel portmanteau has appeared before in Archie comics and in the television sitcom Seinfeld.

M

Magumba

A term for large breasts, coined by Krusty. It was also Stampy’s safety word.

Magguppies

A euphemism for breasts. In «Large Marge», Marge says to the doctors who gave her a boob job, «What on Earth have you done?! My maguppies became bazongas!».

Malonga Gilderchuck

A fictitious Australian word, used in describing how the bullfrogs are all over the place; presumably it is a generic term for an arbitrary, but common, location. Lisa and Marge are in the general store, and the shopkeeper is sweeping away all the bullfrogs, remarking, «These bloody things are everywhere. They’re in the lift, in the lorry, in the bond wizard, and all over the malonga gilderchuck.»

Malparkage

The state or condition of being illegally parked. In «The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson» Barney had left Homer’s car illegally parked on the plaza at the World Trade Center. Homer then received a letter regarding this violation:

«Dear motorist, your vehicle is illegally parked in the borough of Manhattan. If you do not remedy this malparkage within 72 hours, your car will be thrown into the East River at your expense.»

This could be a reference to George Orwell’s Newspeak, featured in his book 1984, where mal is a prefix for mistake, bad, or wrong. The following is a bureaucratic jargon quote (not actually Newspeak, but using Newspeak prefixing) from 1984 asking the protagonist to fix an error in Big Brother’s speech on Africa:

«times 17.3.84 bb speech malreported Africa rectify»

(Translated into standard English: «There is an error in the reporting of Big Brother’s speech in the Times of 17 March 1984 with regards to Africa; it needs to be rectified.»)

«Mal-» is also a Latin root word meaning «bad,» and is used in several English words such as «malfunction,» «malignant,» and «maladjusted.»

It could also be a play on the legal term «malpractice» in medical language.

Mazuma

Money, cash; from Yiddish, mezumán.

Megacide

The murder of a giant. Used by Eddie in «Simpsons Bible Stories», when he arrests King David (Bart) after killing Goliath’s son, Goliath II.

Meh

An interjection used to indicate indifference or boredom. Used frequently, usually by Bart or Lisa.

Although the word existed before its usage on The Simpsons, and may have origins in Yiddish, it was brought into the awareness of the general population after its use on The Simpsons.

Menapplause

Applause specifically directed toward menopause. Coined by guest star Robert Wagner (or his writers; he says «menapplause? I’m not saying that») in the episode «Goo Goo Gai Pan».

A boy who skillfully distributes menus from a restaurant in order to advertise it. The owner of Springfield restaurant You Thai Now employed Bart as a menu boy in Lisa the Tree Hugger.

Microcalifragilistics

A field of science apparently made up (and studied) by Professor Frink.

This is a spoof of the term «supercalifragilisticexpialidocious» from the movie Mary Poppins.

Milhousing

A word used when someone is making another person look like Milhouse, e.g.: «Stop Milhousing your sister!»

Mobilomobile

Mr. Burns’s name for a car.

Money Fight

This is like a snowball fight, only with wads of cash in place of snowballs. It can be done with two or more people within close range of each other. Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers decide to have a money fight in the middle of a difficult conversation concerning the power plant’s safety budget.

N

Neglecterino

Ned Flanders’ typically cuddly and innocent term for a neglected child. The line was originally pitched by Matt Groening to be «abuserino», but was dismissed as sounding too harsh.

Neighborino

A Ned-Flanderized version of the word «neighbor.» Possibly inspired by comedian Louis Nye on the Steve Allen Comedy Hour (1967), whose character Gordon Hathaway greeted Allen by saying «Hi, ho, Steve-a-reeno.»

May also be inspired by Kimmy Gibbler’s «Hola, Tanneritos» from the sitcom Full House.

Nervous Pervis

Mrs. Bellamy’s word for a nervous or scared person from the episode «The Frying Game». Also used by Flanders in The Simpsons Movie.

Flanders: Uh, Homer? I don’t mean to be a nervous pervis, but if he falls, couldn’t that make your son a paraplegiarino?

This term may have originated with «Never Nervous» Pervis Ellison, a basketball player who played for the University of Louisville Cardinals from 1985-1989.

No-breath

A person who cannot create condensation very well on glass with their breath.

[Jimbo breathes on the glass of the freezer at the Kwik-E-Mart, then writes «BITE ME» in the condensation.]

Dolph: Hah! Some ice cream guy’s going to see that, and it’ll blow his mind.

Bart: Let me try. [He tries to form condensation on the glass by breathing, but it fails.]

Jimbo: Way to breathe, no-breath.

Non-giving-up school guy

A determined, male member of a school faculty. In «The Boy Who Knew Too Much», Bart played hooky from school, and Skinner relentlessly pursued him. Bart was surprised at Skinner’s determination, and said, «He’s like some kind of non-giving-up school guy!».

Non-Jesus-y

Not resembling something related to Jesus. In «Black-Eyed, Please», Ned Flanders had a nightmare in which he was sent to a personalised version of Hell, which included, among other things, «non-Jesus-y beards».

Nuclear Whipping Boy (NWB)

In the episode «Worst Episode Ever», it is revealed, in a film that Bart and Milhouse find in Comic Book Guy’s stash of illegal films hidden in his basement, that Springfield is classified Nuclear Whipping Boy in case of an emergency and will be bombed at will by all allies to calibrate their missiles. The general who is divulging this information then terminates the cameraman.

Nucleon

Homer’s stated place of work; mispronunciation of «nuclear power plant».

“Miss work? But my life would be nothing without the nucleon plant!”

―Homer Simpson^[src]

A nucleon is actually a term for the particles of matter within a nucleus.

Nuisancefon

Mock German, meaning a phone which causes annoyance.

In the episode «Bart vs. Australia», Bart dials several Southern Hemisphere countries attempting to discover in which direction their toilets flush. One of those countries is Argentina, where Bart winds up dialing a man who appears to be Adolf Hitler. When the man can’t answer his phone in time, he laments, «Ach! Das Beinfon ist ein… Nuisancefon!»

Nulecule

According to Homer, the mother of all atomic particles.

In «Day of the Jackanapes», Moe is a contestant on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?-parodied show Me Wantee! and as his lifeline, calls Homer for help on which of «electron», «neutron», «proton» or «bonbon», is not a subatomic particle. Homer begins a diatribe, «Well, it all starts when a nulecule comes out of its nest…» then Lisa grabs the phone and tells Moe that the correct answer is «bonbon». Moe follows Lisa’s advice and wins $500,000. Moe then passes on the million dollar question and the Millionaire babes burn the other half of the million dollars in a wheelbarrow.

The true essence of a nulecule and how it gets pregnant (and who or what gets it pregnant) and gives birth to atomic particles has not yet been explained.

Numbskullery

Burns’ insult to an assassin who can’t do the job of killing Grampa Simpson.

Assassin: [after failing to kill Grampa] D’oh! Not again!

Burns: I can’t take much more of your blundering numbskullery.

From the episode «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish»».

Nutty Fudgekins

A euphemistic exclamation Marge uses when something bad happens.

Marge: Aaah, nutty fudgekins!

Ny Mets

A phrase uttered by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon when he was pretending to be an American. He attempted to refer to the New York Mets, but failed to understand that «NY» is an acronym so instead spoke it as if it was a word.

O

Oh, mercy!

What Skinner says when he finds something funny.

Skinner: Oh, ho ho, that place must be falling apart. Oh, mercy!

Okely Dokely

Ned Flanders’ version of the phrase, «Okie Dokie.»

Another variation is «Okely-dokely-do.»

The Old Fork in the Eye

Moe’s trick of stabbing people in the eye when they least suspect it.

One Way Passage to the Boneyard

The Sea Captain’s term for an upcoming doom.

The Sea Captain: Arr, Burns, your scurvy schemes will earn ya a one way passage to the boneyard.

Onetuplet

Pronounced /wɐntɐplɪt/ or «one-tuplit», a child not born as part of a multiple-birth pregnancy. Specifically, what Homer laments his children are compared to the free gift-receiving octuplets of Apu and Manjula.

On-purpose baby

A baby who was conceived on purpose. In «Adventures in Baby-Getting», Marge expressed a desire to have a baby, and Homer was surprised at the idea of having an «on-purpose» baby because all of their current children were conceived unintentionally.

Oodily

A variant of doodily used by Flanders when he’s nervous or screwing up his words.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily!

Osaka Flu

A variation on influenza, that originated in Osaka, Japan, hence the name.

In «Marge in Chains», a factory worker in Osaka came down with it, but showed up to work anyway. He then coughed a visible cloud of germs into a box, which was sent to Springfield, along with several other contaminated boxes, starting a town-wide epidemic that infected many citizens including Homer, Bart, Patty, Selma, Principal Skinner, Chief Wiggum, and Todd Flanders.

Its main symptoms are fever and coughing, but it can also cause lethargy, loss of consciousness (such as with Skinner) and delirium (such as with Todd).

Several citizens tried to protect themselves from the Osaka flu, such as Mayor Quimby who secretly left town to go to the beach, and Mr. Burns who tried to seal himself in a dome, only for Homer to already be there.

A crowd of infected people demanded a cure from Dr. Hibbert, but he told them that the only cure was bed rest and anything else would be a placebo. They ransacked his van to search for «placebos» and released a swarm of killer bees, one of which a man ate. He thought it had cured him, but then it stung him.

Ovulicious

A portmanteau of «ovulation» and «delicious.» (See sacrilicious.)

When Apu’s wife Manjula gives birth to octuplets, Apu confesses to secretly giving his wife fertility drugs. Several of the Simpsons admit that they had done the same, and Homer says «Mine tasted like strawberry.» He pops one of the pills into his mouth, moaning «Mmm… ovulicious!».

P

Paraplegiarino

Flanders’ euphemism for a paraplegic. From The Simpsons Movie.

Flanders: Uh, Homer? I don’t mean to be a nervous pervis, but if he falls, couldn’t that make your son a paraplegiarino?

Pasghetti

Homer’s mispronunciation and misspelling of «spaghetti». (Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?).

Picto-cube

Used by Mr. Burns when describing a television.

Mr. Burns: Jumping box, television, picto-cube, just crank it up!

Pointy kitty

Ralph Wiggum’s description of a rat, when he and Bart are looking for a lost key to the electric chair of Morningwood Penetentiary in the episode «This Little Wiggy».

Ralph: There’s the key! [A rat takes the key] Aagh! The pointy kitty took it!

Pollutinest

Most polluted. Used by the Rich Texan in conjunction with «rootinest tootinest».

Popsticle

Ralph Wiggum’s mispronunciation of the word «popsicle».

Posturologist

Scientists who study the field of posture. Mrs. Krabappel informs her students that their oddly curved chairs were designed by such scientists in «The Boy Who Knew Too Much.» Possibly just a marketing term used to sell the uncomfortable chairs.

Edna Krabappel: Well, children, our new ultra-hard Posturefect chairs have arrived. They’ve been designed by eminent posturologists to eliminate slouching by the year 3000.

Pox Box

A term for a box in which somebody afflicted with chicken pox sat and other people would come and try to contract it.

In «Milhouse of Sand and Fog», Maggie caught the chicken pox and the Simpsons threw a «pox party» so that the neighbourhood kids would catch chicken pox before they were grown.

Homer put Maggie in a box and said, «Introducing the Pox Box!«.

Presbylutheran

Formally The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism, it is the Protestant church attended by the Simpson family. Presbylutheranism was formed as a result of a schism with the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches over the right for worshippers to attend church with wet hair (a tenet the Presbylutheran church has since abandoned). A group of Presbylutheran ministers were also responsible for the approval of the stop-motion animated series Gravey and Jobriath (a parody of Davey and Goliath, possibly referring to the singer Jobriath); we see one episode in which Gravey builds a pipe bomb to blow up a Planned Parenthood. See Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism.

Pretzeled Bread

Mr. Burns’ word for pretzels.

Pricetaggery

«To spoil the fun of buying something by noticing the exorbitant price»; when Mr. Burns decides to make amends for his ingratitude after receiving the gift of life from Bart’s blood, he takes Smithers shopping and then berates him for his pricetaggery.

Prudissitude

One of the cardinal virtues in Presbylutheran ethics, prudissitude is the disposition to be shocked or embarrassed by matters relating to sex or nudity. Expressions of prudissitude are commonly made out of concern «for the children». In the episode, «In Marge We Trust», Marge raises her concerns about Rvd. Lovejoy’s ministry, telling him that «Sermons about Constancy and Prudissitude are all very well and good, but the church could be doing so much more to reach people.»

Pull a Homer

«To succeed despite idiocy», or rather, to have great amounts of dumb luck. After Homer does so in the episode «Homer Defined», this phrase becomes a temporary fad in the Simpsonverse.

Q

Quantum Tunnel

A tunnel (that will be invented in the future) which does not physically exist, but traffic may pass through, by some quirk of physics. Future Homer drives his hovercar through the Quantum Tunnel on his way to Moe’s Bar. It may be that the Quantum Tunnel replaced the Warren G. Harding Memorial Throughhole.

The name is a reference to the real phenomenon of quantum tunneling.

Quetzalzacatenango

During the episode «El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)», Homer samples many different chilis proudly served by Springfield residents at the annual chili cook-off. Chief Wiggum prepares an especially spicy concoction for Homer containing, «The merciless insanity peppers of Quetzlzacatenango… grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.» «Quetzal» is a Central American bird and the currency of Guatemala. «Tenango» means «land of» in K’iche. Acatenango is a volcano in Guatemala. «Quetzaltenango», also known as «Xela», is the second largest city in Guatemala. «Quetzalcoatl» was an Aztec deity.

R

Rageohol(ic)

A fictitious substance that creates rage. From the episode «I Am Furious (Yellow)», in which Homer admits: «I’m a rageoholic! I just can’t live without rageohol!»

Like workaholic, the word is based on «alcoholic», using «-oholic» as a suffix for «addicted to.»

Rastafy

To make more Rastafarian. Used by an animation executive designing Poochie, the unpopular character added to Itchy and Scratchy, as a byword for coolness. «Rastafy» was previously used by hip-hop artist The D.O.C. in his song ‘It’s Funky Enough’.

Raytheist

Disbelief in the existence of Ray. Used by Ned Flanders during an episode where Ray Romano guest stars (as Ray Magini) and everyone believes that Ray is a figment of Homer’s imagination.

Rear Admiral

Fully, The Dreaded Rear Admiral: a fictitious school bully prank mentioned by Milhouse.

Rebigulator

In the «Genesis Tub» part of the episode «Treehouse of Horror VII», Lisa asks if she will ever be able to become normal size after Professor Frink uses the Debigulator on her. In response Frink says, «Why, that would require some sort of rebigulator!».

Re-Dorkulated

In «The Blunder Years», a hypnotist turns Professor Frink into a suave ladies man, which suggests strongly that Frink’s character is modeled on Jerry Lewis’s Nutty Professor/Buddy Love very closely. When the spell wears off Frink says, «Oh dear, I’ve redorkulated.» Literally, the word means, «to become dorky again.»

Re-Neducation

When Ned Flanders gains control of the world in «Treehouse of Horror V», this phrase is used to refer to the process of «fixing» those who have escaped Ned’s control. The process involves mechanically forcing clients to smile and performing frontal lobotomies.

Retirony

In the episode «Homer vs. Dignity», Chief Wiggum explains to a financial planner that retirony means he’ll get shot three days before retirement. Seemingly a portmanteau of ‘retire’ and ‘irony’.

Based on a common cliché in crime and action films, examples of retirony are one of the show’s longest-lasting running gags, as illustrated by these instances:

• «Saturdays of Thunder» — Homer watches a McBain movie, where McBain’s doomed partner (an analogue to Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon) is killed right before retirement.
• «Homer and Apu» — When Homer smashes the hidden camera hat used to spy on Apu, Kent Brockman tells him that the hat had one day left until retirement.
• «The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons» — a man writes on a billboard «Today: Bachelor Auction. Tomorrow: I Retire, Ya Bastards!». After finishing up with the exclamation point, the man topples off the ladder and falls to the ground.
• «Natural Born Kissers» — When a police dog sniffs a pair of Homer’s underwear, it runs away, prompting Wiggum to say that the dog had one day left until retirement.
• «Homer to the Max» — A tree falls onto a police car, destroying it. Wiggum notes that the car had one day left until retirement.
• «Marge Simpson in: «Screaming Yellow Honkers»» — Marge crashes into a prison, freeing some inmates, and Wiggum tells her «Those prisoners were one day away from being completely rehabilitated.»

Reverse Vampire

Vampires which come out during the day only and sleep at night. First mockingly suggested by Lisa in the episode «Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy» as to the reason why parents were going to bed early. Later added to Bart’s Grand Conspiracy Theory diagram along with the Saucer People and the Rand Corporation. («We’re through the looking glass, people,» comments Milhouse, quoting a line from the film JFK).

In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode «Bus of the Undead,» Master Shake refers to a supposedly vampiritic bus as a reverse vampire.

Reversifying Glass

According to Cletus’s wife (and sister), Brandine, «mirror» is just «a big city word for Reversifying Glass» (From the episode «The Seven-Beer Snitch»).

Rhinoceros pox

A condition resulting in horns growing all over the body. It was seen as an effect of the «anti-booze» serum in «The Last Barfighter». The name is likely a parody of the actual disease «chickenpox».

Riding the Midnight Train to Slab City

Moe Szyslak’s euphemism for death. (Lisa the Tree Hugger).

Rock and/or Roll

Reverend Lovejoy’s bizarre term for rock ‘n’ roll.

Reverend Lovejoy: Wait a minute… This sounds like rock and/or roll.

S

Sacrilicious

Homer’s description of his act after eating a waffle that Bart threw on the ceiling, which he was praying to as if it were God. In the episode’s DVD commentary, the writers stated that it was related to a disgusting candy on the ceiling of the writing room. The word is a portmanteau of the words sacrilegious and delicious. From the episode «Homer Loves Flanders».

Sally Housecoat

C. Montgomery Burns’ condescending dismissal of ordinary, middle or working-class women. Used along with «Johnny Lunchpail». From the episode «Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish».

Sandal-wearing goldfish tender

The Japanese, as described by Mr. Burns’ grandfather in «Last Exit to Springfield».

Saxamaphone

Homer’s word for Lisa’s favorite instrument.

He also seems to be unable to pronounce the names of several other instruments. In «Lisa’s Sax» where Homer tells Lisa the story of how she got her sax, he suggests a few other potential instruments: oboe-ma-bo, vio-mo-lin and tuba-ma-ba.

This is an example of Mytacism, or «Too frequent use of the letter m, or of the sound represented by it.»

During Lisa’s absence in «Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily», Homer attempted to «play» Lisa’s baritone saxophone in her memory by singing «Saxamaphone» to the tune of the initial motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony into the instrument.

Scalpal

Relating to the scalp. See also chestal.

Skinner: What kind of parents would allow such a lapse in scalpal hygiene?

Science Pole

A long pole, usually made of metal, used for scientific purposes.

Scientist: Frink, are you mad?! Put down that science pole!

Scientician

An incorrect name for a scientist. From the «educational film» Meat and You — Partners in Freedom featured in «Lisa the Vegetarian»:

Jimmy: Uhh, Mr. McClure? I have a crazy friend who says it’s wrong to eat meat. Is he crazy?

Troy: No, just ignorant. You see, your crazy friend never heard of «The Food Chain.» Just ask this scientician.

«Scientician»: [Looks up from microscope] Uh —

Troy: He’ll tell you that, in nature, one creature invariably eats another creature to survive.

Probably a combination of the words ‘science’ or ‘scientist’ and the -cian ending of such words as ‘dietician’, ‘physician’, or ‘statistician’.

Scotchtoberfest

Scotchtoberfest is a fake Scottish festival which was featured in the episode «Bart’s Girlfriend». It was invented by Principal Seymour Skinner to catch Bart red-handed in the act of perpetrating a prank, as is Bart’s perennial wont. Groundskeeper Willie, the Scottish school janitor, plays the bagpipes while wearing a kilt. Bart lifts his kilt with helium balloons, and since Willie wears his kilt without underpants, at least one woman faints at the sight.

Skinner: There’s no such thing as Scotchtoberfest.

Willie: [sounding genuinely surprised] There’s not?! Ya used me, Skinner. Ya used me!

It is a play on the Oktoberfest held in Munich, Germany every September.

Screamapillar

A caterpillar that screams nearly all the time, even as it sleeps. Without constant reassurement, it will die, and it is sexually attracted to fire. It is endangered and illegal to kill one, despite the fact that it is a menace and, as Homer puts it, «God… want[s] it to die.»

Scrod Basket

The fictional town of Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport is called «America’s scrod basket» in «Summer of 4 Ft. 2». Conversely, Springfield is «America’s Crud Bucket», according to Newsweek. «Scrod» means «A young cod or haddock, especially one split and boned for cooking as the catch of the day,» so a scrod basket could be a type of fish container, or, in this context, a place producing lots of fish (Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport appears to be on the coast, so this is feasible). This could also refer to fish and chips, a meal that is often served in coastal towns in a plastic basket with scrod as the fish — hence «scrod basket.»

Lisa: So where are we going, anyway?

Marge: Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport. Apparently it’s America’s Scrod Basket.

Bart: I thought Springfield was America’s Scrod Basket.

Marge: No, Springfield is America’s crud bucket. At least, according to Newsweek.

Senseless Dunderpate

A useless stupid person, according to Mr. Burns.

Mr. Burns: My name is the return address, you senseless dunderpate! Smithers, who is this nincompoop?

Sentimonies

A synonym for «sentiments». Homer Simpson uses it in «Much Apu About Nothing» when agreeing with Moe about immigrants’ poor English, despite proving himself to have a poor grasp of the language himself.

She. U.I.

A D.U.I. committed by a woman, as used by Chief Wiggum in «Co-Dependent’s Day.»

Chief Wiggum: This D.U.I. is a She. U.I.!

Shinning

A play on the mispronunciation of the word «Shining» as a reference to the sixth sense, as in the Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film The Shining. It appears in episode «Treehouse of Horror V.» But as Willie stated, it was so they wouldn’t get sued.

Groundskeeper Willie: Boy, you read my thoughts! You’ve got the Shinning.

Bart: You mean Shining.

Groundskeeper Willie: Shhh! Do ya’ want to get sued?

Shirkaday

In «22 Short Films About Springfield,» while he and Mr. Burns are riding a tandem bicycle, Smithers is stung by a bee and goes into anaphylactic shock. To save his lackey, Mr. Burns employs an insult-based motivational technique to inspire Smithers to pedal them both to the hospital. As they collapse upon arrival at the hospital, with his last gasp Mr. Burns calls Smithers a «wretched shirkaday.» From «to shirk,» meaning to avoid duty or responsibility, plus «workaday.»

Shirt-wiener

From «Thank God It’s Doomsday», while hunting for a winning «photo» to be hung in the school lobby for the rest of the year, the Springfield Elementary Photo Club sees Principal Skinner’s shirt sticking out of his pants zipper. Nelson declares «Look! The Principal has a shirt-wiener!» Much photo snapping ensues to the chagrin of Skinner.

Shiva H. Vishnu

An expression of surprise used by Apu, a Hindu. Obvious reference to «Jesus H. Christ».

Simpson butt

According to Homer in «Sleeping with the Enemy», this is a body type that every Simpson has, characterised by a round butt.

Skanks for nothing

A ruder version of «thanks for nothing».

Bart: Skanks for nothin’, Lamarella.

Skittlebrau

Beer with pieces of candy floating in it.

Homer: «I’m feelin’ low, Apu. You got any of that beer that has candy floating in it, you know, Skittlebrau?»

Apu: «Such a product does not exist, sir! You must have dreamed it.»

Homer: «Oh. Well then, just gimme a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.»

Smarch

The 13th month of the year, which exists only on Springfield Elementary’s misprinted calendars. Many Simpsons merchandise calendars also feature Smarch as a «bonus» month.

Homer: Lousy Smarch weather!

Smashy Smashy

Used to inform others of your intentions to wantonly destroy an object or objects, or to encourage others to do so.

After smashing a window with cameras behind it:

Bart: Smashy, smashy. (smashes a random window)

Marge: Hmm, I don’t approve of that.

From the episode «Itchy & Scratchy Land».

Smeckler’s Powder

A fictional treatment option suggested in jest by Bart in «Lady Bouvier’s Lover», to mock Grampa’s and Grandma Jackie’s competing suggestions for a medicinal response to Maggie’s frightened reaction to flashbulbs, candles, and a darkened room during her birthday party. Said suggestions included: «Lister’s Carbolic Unguent» on a wad of cotton, placed in Maggie’s ear (from Grampa); a «balsam specific» (from Grandma Jackie); and a «curative galvanic belt» (facetiously from Grampa). This is a reference to unregulated (pre-FDA) early 20th Century pharmacological quackery.

Smell Ya Later

Phrase coined by Nelson Muntz. Another way to say ‘see ya later’ or ‘goodbye.’

«I can’t believe ‘smell ya later’ replaced ‘goodbye’.» — Bart Simpson, «Bart to the Future»

Smendler

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!«

The word is also used by Professor Frink’s father after being given an unspecified type of hors d’œuvre possibly containing fish.

Frink’s father: Mmmm, that’s a good smendler.

Professor Frink: Oh, I’ve waited so long to hear you say that again! …What does it mean? Is it dirty?

Smitily

An adverb which describes of triumph over another knight in battle, to the point where a doctor needs to be called. Origin is allegedly pure Flanders. Said by Ned to Smithers in «Lisa’s Wedding».

Zounds, I did thee mightily smitily!

Smokesperson

A spokesperson for a cigarette company, such as Laramie Cigarettes’ Menthol Moose, or Joe Camel.

The American Cancer Society has used this term in an anti-smoking ad campaign parodying «American Idol» entitled «America’s Next Smokesperson».

Also used to describe Nick Naylor in the 1994 book Thank You For Smoking: A Novel.»

Snacktacular

In the episode «Lisa Gets an «A»», Snacktacular is offered by Edna Krabappel as an acceptable atomic weight for the element Bolognium as taken from a promotional periodic table provided by Oscar Mayer.

Snitchy

A person who snitches on others.

Milhouse: Bart did it! That Bart right there!

Bart: Milhouse!

Reverend Lovejoy: Milhouse, you did the right thing. Bart, come with me for punishment. You too, snitchy.

Snuggle

Used by Homer as a euphemism for sex.

In «Regarding Margie», Homer invited an amnesiac Marge to have sex by saying, «Let’s snuggle.» She asked what snuggling was and he whispered in her ear. Upon hearing the definition, Marge was disgusted and refused.

Sophistimacated Doowhackey

Homer’s term for a complex machine, used to describe Frink’s matter transporter. i.e «Bart, this is a highly sophistimacated doowhackey,» proving that he can’t even get the word «doohickey» right.

Speedhole or Speed Hole

While dressed as Krusty the Clown, Homer is shot at by mob assassins (under the direction of Fat Tony) as he visits a car dealership. Asking about the new bullet holes peppering the vehicle he is interested in (after they shoot and miss), Homer is told by the quick-thinking salesman that they are speedholes to make the car go faster. (Homer responds knowingly, «Oh, yeah. Speed holes!») Later in the episode, Homer ‘installs’ speedholes in his existing car with a pick-axe, to the bafflement of Ned Flanders. The word has been picked up by many fans to jokingly describe the condition of run-down cars (specifically, those with holes in the body).

In reality, Buick cars are famous for having holes in the front fender on both sides. Called VentiPorts, these were first advertised as providing ventilation to the engine bay, though in later years they became purely aesthetic.

Spiritual De-pantsing

Apu’s description for his karmic fall from grace, suffered in Episode 1F10, «Homer & Apu». In response to Marge asking him if he would accompany her to the Kwik-E-Mart for milk, Apu says, «I cannot go there. That is the scene of my spiritual de-pantsing».

Spokesrebel

A corporate mascot designed to appeal to the anti-authoritarian streak in children and teens.

Squozen

From Lemon of Troy as Milhouse’s declaration of having squeezed all of the lemons at his lemonade stand.

Milhouse: Gasp! We’ve squozen our whole supply. To the lemon tree!

Stabby

From Grift of the Magi and The Italian Bob; the state or condition of being likely to stab.

Fat Tony: I don’t get mad. I get stabby.

Marge: [on Sideshow Bob] He’s getting that stabby look again.

Steamed Ham

An alternate name for hamburgers. In one of the segments from «22 Short Films About Springfield», a mishap in the kitchen forces Principal Skinner to tell Superintendent Chalmers they were having steamed clams. After Skinner sneaks back from Krustyburger with lunch, Chalmers confronts him on the change in menu. Skinner tries to pass off that he in fact said «steamed hams«, a regional term from upstate New York synonymous with hamburgers. When Chalmers retorts that he is from Utica, and has never heard the term, and that the nickname «steamed hams» made no sense because the burgers were «obviously grilled», Skinner’s final stab at alleviating his discomfort is «oh, no, it’s an Albany expression». To this, an inexplicably satisfied Chalmers replies, «I see,» and ceases the questioning immediately. This is probably Skinner’s best performance at dealing with Chalmers; at the end of the night, Chalmers remarks «Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say… you steam a good ham.»

In the French Canadian dub, Skinner tries to pass a hamburger off as «un ham vapeur,» claiming that it’s a regional dialect from the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. Chalmers tells Skinner he’s from Jonquière and has never heard the term «ham vapeur,» but Skinner tells him that it’s an Alma expression.

Stinkables

A generic term that appeared in the episode «Trash of the Titans», referring to any article that emits a foul or unpleasant odor. When telling the voters what the garbagemen will do, one of the things is «Air out your ‘stinkables'».

Successmanship

The practice of success through the use of «Megatronics»; Homer enrolls in Stark Richdale’s extension class Successmanship 101, which gives him the «Megatronics: The 48 Tips to Corporate Success» tools needed to take over the SNPP. From «C.E. D’oh».

[Homer leaves the class and is reading the Successmanship book while driving]

Homer: «Step One, ‘Live every day as if it were your last.'»

[cut to next scene: Homer sobbing inconsolably on the curb]

Homer: «Step Two…»

«Megatronics: The 48 Tips to Corporate Success» is a direct reference to the book «The 48 Laws of Power.» Megatronics also appears to be an oblique reference to the engineering discipline mechatronics.

Suck Shack

Bart Simpson’s name for Springfield Elementary. In «How the Test Was Won», Bart laments, «I can’t believe we have to start another year at school. I never learned anything at that suck shack.» Later in the episode, when Superintendent Chalmers is preparing students for a high stakes standardized test he explains, «Your scores on this test will determine how much money this suck-shack gets for years to come.»

Sunblocker

A large screen that blocks out the sun over a large area. The Springfield sunblocker was dreamt up and built by Mr. Burns in Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One). It was destroyed by angry residents in Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two).

Superliminal

Describes something so apparent or obvious that it’s irresistible. The most direct of the three methods («Subliminal, liminal, and superliminal») used by Navy recruiter Lt. L. T. Smash to convince new recruits. The term was coined in the 12th season episode «New Kids on the Blecch».

Lisa: But you have recruiting ads on TV. Why do you need subliminal messages?

Smash: It’s a three-pronged attack: subliminal, liminal, and superliminal.

Lisa: Superliminal?

Smash: I’ll show you. [opens the window, and shouts at Lenny and Carl, who are standing on the corner] Hey, you! Join the Navy!

Carl: Uh, yeah, all right.

Lenny: I’m in.

Suspicious Aloysius

A suspicious person (Flanders, Lisa’s Sax).

Flanders: Well, sir, I hate to be suspicious Aloysius on you, but DID YOU STEAL MY AIR CONDITIONER!?

Swedish Lunchbox

What Grampa Simpson used to call a suitcase in his youth.

Grampa: Back in my day, a suitcase was called a Swedish lunchbox!

From the episode «Jaws Wired Shut».

Swishifying

The effect of the modern world, what with its TV and diet sodas, on the youth of today, as stated by keen-eyed observer of humanity Moe Szyslak in the episode «Homer’s Phobia». Suggested remedies involve killing men, or, better yet, a deer, which Barney declares is «like killing a beautiful man».

T

Tasty-Fake

A food product designed to look like something other than what it actually is.

In «All’s Fair in Oven War», Marge enters the Ovenfresh Bakeoff with «Dessert Dogs» — hot dogs which are actually made of cookie dough «dogs», meringue «buns», cherry sauce «ketchup», and caramel «mustard». When she presents the idea to an experienced contestant, he refers to the idea as a «tasty-fake». It might be a reference to the Delaware Valley’s popular Tastykake snack cakes. [1]

Taxitude

Lucius Sweet’s word referring to taxation, heard in «The Trouble with Trillions».

Lucius Sweet: This is an egregious miscarriage with the taxitude!

Telepanhandling

A portmanteau of «telemarketing» and «panhandling», specifically used by Homer in describing his auto-dialer scam.

Texas Left

The direction that is referred to as «down» in the rest of the country.

Texas Penny

A hundred dollar bill. When Moe bets the Rich Texan a hundred dollars on whether Homer can defeat him in an arm-wrestling contest, the Rich Texan throws his hundred dollar bill on the bar and claims it is a Texas penny.

Third World Loser Country

A term used by Moe Szyslak in «The Boy Who Knew Too Much» to describe a third-world nation.

Moe: Freddy Quimby was with me the entire… night in question. We were collecting canned goods for the starving people in… er, you know, one of them loser countries.

Throughhole

A type of road of relatively unknown description; it could be a combination of a thruway and a tunnel.

In the episode «Thank God It’s Doomsday» there are two references to a road leading out of Springfield called the Warren Harding Memorial Throughhole.

Tomacco

A fictional hybrid fruit that is half tomato and half tobacco, from the episode «E-I-E-I-D’oh».

Tomorry

Homer’s former mangling of the word «tomorrow», as revealed in «HOMЯ».

Ton-In-Law

A word made up by Patty and Selma to describe Lucas Bortner in the episode «Luca$». It’s a play on the words «son-in-law» and «ton», refering to his weight.

Topwise

A direction in which one might seek to rotate the middle side of a Rubik’s Cube.

Tracted

The opposite of «distracted», according to Homer. In «Diatribe of a Mad Housewife», when Marge wanted Homer to read her book, «The Harpooned Heart», Homer stated he couldn’t get distracted. The prefix «dis» represents the opposite of the word to which it is attached, such as: disgrace — grace.

Since «distracted» means to not concentrate, then «tracted» apparently means to concentrate.

Homer: No, gotta read Marge’s book. Can’t get distracted. «Distracted»… that’s a funny word. Does anyone ever get «tracted»? I’m gonna call the suicide hotline and ask them.

In the Czech dub, Homer said «rozptylovat» (which means «distracted») and improvised it with a word «ptylovat» (which doesn’t really mean anything but it is «rozptylovat» without the prefix «roz», because some words in Czech that have this prefix are even said without it).

In the Polish dub he said «musze sie skupić» (I gotta concentrate) and was curious if the word «skupić» is based on the word «kupić» (which means «buy»), which does not make any sense when translated.

In the Italian dub the word for «distracted» is «distrarre»; just like in English, Homer just removed the prefix «dis» and wondered if the word «trarre» would be the opposite.

In the French dub the word for «distracted» is «Distraire» which also sounds like «dix traire» which means «10 milkings» or rather «10 times milking». Because of that, Homer responded «et pourquoi c’est dix, pourquoi pas neuf traire» which means «and why is it ten, why not nine milkings».

Tramampoline

Homer’s mispronunciation of «trampoline» in «Bart’s Inner Child».

Traumedy

Perhaps spelled ‘Traumady’, Traumedy is a portmanteau of ‘trauma’ and ‘comedy’ identified by Dr. Hibbert in the episode «Faith Off» as a syndrome of horrifying yet amusing injuries. Also a pun on the term «dramedy».

Tromboner

A term for one who plays the trombone. Mr. Largo, the music teacher, asks Lisa if she finds something funny about the word «tromboner» after she chuckles at a prank Nelson Muntz plays on Groundskeeper Willie in «Lisa’s Date with Density.»

U

Unblowuppable

The state or condition of being unable to be blown up. Describing his toy rocket, Homer says: «The word unblowuppable is thrown around a lot these days, but I think I can say for certain that… (Boom)». This may refer to the people who confidently predicted that the Titanic was «unsinkable.»

Unfaceuptoable

Used by Mayor Quimby to describe the dire straits the town found itself in after Homer became Sanitation Commissioner, requiring the implementation of the town’s all-purpose contingency plan. He also used it when Sideshow Bob threatened to destroy Springfield with a nuclear weapon unless it stopped all television broadcasts.

Mayor Quimby: We must face up to the unfaceuptoable!

Most likely a reference to «enduring the unendurable» in Emperor Hirohito’s Gyokuon-hōsō speech.

Unky

‘Unky Herb’, the term Herb Powell wants Bart and Lisa to call him, since «Uncle» is too formal and «Unky» is cuter.

Unpossible

Spoken by Ralph Wiggum in the episode «Lisa on Ice,» as a synonym of «impossible.»

Ralph: [Upon Principal Skinner informing him that he’s failing English class] Me fail English? That’s unpossible!

«Unpossible» appears in Shakespeare’s play Richard II, Act 2, Scene 2.

The word first came into contemporary use in Walt Kelly’s comic strip Pogo.

Up and At Them

This is how Ranier Wolfcastle kept pronouncing Radioactive Man’s catchphrase, which was intended to be «Up and Atom!» In real life, Army movies and other sources have used the phrase «Up and at ’em», and the 1960s cartoon, Atom Ant, introduced the «Up and atom!» version. The Austrian Ranier Wolfcastle is apparently not fluent enough in English to get the intended joke, and he keeps insistently pronouncing it very flatly.

Crew Member: Up and atom.

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and at them.

Crew Member: Up and atom.

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and at them.

Crew Member: Up and ATOM!

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and AT THEM!

Crew Member: …Better.

Uppity Box

Cletus’ term for an elevator (from the episode «Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife»).

V

Velocitator

Mr. Burns’s archaic name for a car’s accelerator pedal. Burns attempts to drive a car for the first time while proclaiming he is sure the owners manual will instruct him as to which lever is the velocitator and which one is the deceleratrix.

Volleybrick

Volleyball played with a brick instead of a ball.

W

Walking Bird

Another name for a turkey. In «Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy,» Grandpa Simpson drones on with a rambling story about Thanksgiving:

«I just used [my washtub] that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as a walking bird. We’d always have walking bird on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we’d all watch football, which in those days was called ‘baseball’…»

Wellity

A goofy way of saying the word «well».

It was used by Homer to gloat in «Viva Ned Flanders» when he was glad that Ned was the one asking him for advice instead of the other way round. He said, «Wellity, wellity, wellity«, which annoyed Ned.

Well-Wisher

Someone who does not wish you any specific harm.

When Homer asks the guys in the bar if they are his soulmate, Moe responds with, «I’m a well-wisher, in that I don’t wish you any specific harm.»

Whoa Mama

Main article: Whoa, mama!

This is a phrase Bart uses to express how he’s impressed by an item or an ability someone has.

Widget

Mr. Burns’s word for a generic object that is mysterious to him.

Note: this actually is not a made-up word [2].

Wiggle Puppy

An imaginary dog made up by Ralph Wiggum, who can wiggle his tail to fly.

Marge: Is that normal?

Chief Wiggum: Oh, he’s just playing Wiggle Puppy. I tell ya, that dog has had some amazing adventures…

Woozle Wuzzle

Spoken by Bart on Krusty’s TV show after his rendition of his catchphrase, «I didn’t do it!» for the umpteenth time yielded only a short, quiet laugh, a cough and some crickets. From the episode «Bart Gets Famous».

Initially said earlier in the episode by Homer, hoping to exploit his other children for financial gain, as a suggestion for something funny for Lisa to say:

Homer: Come on, Lisa, say something funny.

[holds a tape recorder with a microphone]

Lisa: Like what?

Homer: Oh, something stupid like Bart would say. «Bucka Bucka» or «Woozle Wuzzle«: something like that.

«Woozled» is also a colloquial term for «drunk; intoxicated with alcohol». «Wuzzled» is a possible variation.

Word hole

Used by Chief Wiggum in «Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming» to mean «mouth».

Bob: There. That’s the last condom wrapper.

[a jet flies by, blowing all the neatly piled trash away]

Bob: Oh, I renew my objection to this pointless endeavor! Informally now and by affidavit later. Time permitting.

Wiggum: Shut your word hole! We’ve got to get this place clean for the air show.

Y

Yellow Fatty-Bean

What Grampa calls bananas. At the end of one of his trademark long, pointless speeches, he says, «…and that’s why today, bananas are called yellow fatty-beans. Any questions?». From the episode «Natural Born Kissers».

Yoink!

After appearing many times on The Simpsons, «Yoink» has gained widespread usage as a verbal exclamation made when removing or stealing an object from its owner or rightful place. It can also be used as a verb: «I yoinked it.» First used by Homer in «Duffless», when he snatches the wad of money he saved, by not drinking for a month, from Marge. Coined by Simpsons writer George Meyer.^[1]

It is possible that «Yoink» is a verbal imitation of the sound effect (performed by a violin) which has been used to illustrate that something is being unceremoniously removed or stolen. The most recognizable example of this would be during the intro to The Jetsons where George holds out a dollar bill and «Yoink», Jane grabs the whole wallet instead. «Yoink» is a verbal declaration that a transaction has taken place, frequently to the consternation of the party relinquishing the article.

See also: The Yoink List.

You-know-what-icide

Spoken by Marge in You Kent Always Say What You Want, and she was referring to suicide because she was afraid Kent Brockman would commit the deed after losing his job after the mishap with Homer.

Z

Zazz

Used to describe that certain je ne sais quoi that Bart has as an anchor of Kidz News, and that Lisa, a much better investigative reporter, does not. From the episode «Girly Edition»:

Lisa: What is «zazz«?

Lindsey Naegle: Zing! Zork! Kapowza! Call it what you want, in any language it spells mazuma in the bank!

Lisa: ‘Zork’? What is ‘zork’?

Lindsey Naegle: I didn’t say ‘zork’. The point is, the camera loves him!

Possibly a play on the word «pizzazz», meaning flair, zest or energy.

Zuh

Exclamation used when one cannot comprehend a complex situation or statement. Used by Bart Simpson, in the episode «The PTA Disbands», when Milhouse says to Bart: «Bart, you’ll never get Krabappel and Skinner together again. They’re like two positively charged ions.» Bart responds, «Zuh?»

The word was also used by Homer in the episode «The Frying Game» when he could not think of anymore similar-sounding exclamations.

Homer (upon seeing the corpse of Mrs. Bellamy): Wha? Muh? Buh?…Zuh?

Citations

• The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family. New York: HarperCollins Publishers; 1997.
• Culturally significant phrases from The Simpsons. (2006, December 12). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:33, December 12, 2006, from Wikipedia

External links

• Homerisms: Figures of Speech in The Simpsons
• The Simpsons Archive: Episode Capsules
• The Simpsons Quotes: Collection of Simpsons Quotes
• Cromulent Shakespeare Company, a theater company in Minnesota employing «Simpsons» neologisms

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PerfectlyCromulentWord

Following

Go To

Mrs. Krabappel: «Embiggens»? I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield.
Ms. Hoover: I don’t know why. It’s a perfectly cromulent word.

A character quotes a seemingly made-up word that no one has ever heard of before then. This is usually a word the writer just made up but is occasionally a real obscure, archaic or obsolete word; for instance, 400 years before we had computers, we had email, which is a raised or embossed image pressed into metal (and pronounced EM-eye, because it’s French), and «unfriend», which meant exactly what it does today (just at the tavern, rather than on Facebook).

A type of Neologism (for the many cases where the word is new), of which Scrabble Babble is a Sub-Trope. Some examples are another form of Malaproper. See also Delusions of Eloquence and Informed Obscenity. Characters who primarily talk in these are known as a Neologizer. Not to be confused with Buffy Speak which is a lack of nuance and sometimes making new compound words, not entirely new words. For words that are actually not new, it may be a case of either Accidentally Correct Writing or Shown Their Work. If these made-up words are only used and are repeated in a pattern of some sort in a conversation, that’s a Conlang.

Named for an exchange from an episode of The Simpsons. A Simpsons screenwriter invented the word «cromulent» when the showrunner challenged the team to think up several real-sounding, but fake, words. The screenwriter says the word «cromulent» is intended to mean «fine» or «acceptable». The word «cromulent» has subsequently bern used in real life by writers and politicians. The made-up word word embiggen was later used in a completely cromulent paper on string theory. It’s on pages 28 and 31 here. It has also been added to Webster’s dictionary and Dictionary.com.

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Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Advertising 

• A Koodo Mobile ad campaign centers around made-up words of varying levels of cromulence, such as «Thumbactionist», «Tabrific», «Bigbillification», and other things that sound like they came out of an ad campaign in 1984.
  • A few years ago, a car ad in the UK was very similar, but exclusively picked two (often opposed) words, and mashed them together- «Sporty» and «Safe» became «Spafe», for instance. Richard Hammond deemed this to be a load of shiny and bright.
• A Green Lantern (2011)-themed cell phone commercial describes its Internet surfing as «faster-er.»

  «That isn’t a real word!»
  «It came out of my mouth, didn’t it?»

    Comic Books 

• Skank Zero Hopeless-Savage’s (of the Hopeless Savages comic series) vocabulary is composed of many of these. Luckily, there is a glossary in the back of the collected volume (as Zero says «some of my best words are friends.») Swerval.
• Warrior has destrucity, foked, skronk, and jet-jack. Although skronk could possibly be an onomatopoeia.
• A Running Gag in Issue 3 of the Invader Zim comics is that Zim, who’s posing as an artist as part of his newest Evil Plan, keeps making up words, such as «Begoodius», «Flapdoodius» and «Apeximoop». Given the setting, it’s lampshaded, but everyone just assumes it’s part of his «artistic talent».
• «Embiggen» itself is the Catchphrase of Ms. Marvel (2014) when she activates her Sizeshifter and Partial Transformation powers (she also uses «disembiggen» to shrink).

    Comic Strips 

• In a brief arc in Bloom County, moral guardians were cracking down on the strip for the use of «inappropriate language», citing frequent uses of «the four-letter H-word, the four-letter D-word, and the fourteen-letter S-word». After heavy speculation as to what this latter word is, one of the characters announcing this can only think of «Snugglebunnies»? In the next strip, the two remark on how somehow saying «Snugglebunnies» is bad enough to get the strip cut. Their response: «We have one thing to say to that. Snugglebunnies! Snugglebunnies! Snu-» and the strip gets cut mid-word. Interestingly, later in the strip’s run, the word started showing up here and there. It’s also on Urban Dictionary.
• A short story arc in Calvin and Hobbes revealed that animals have their own words for the way things smell, such as «snippid» for a brisk autumn day. As it turns out, this was a Batman Gambit by Hobbes to get Calvin to ask, «How do I smell?» To which the answer, of course, is «Terrible!»
• One Get Fuzzy strip from an arc about their new manager had said manager use the words «Dinnerfy» and «Eatification» to describe eating.
• In Retail there is a strip where Cooper says that work has been «Benambling», and mocks his boss, Josh, for not knowing what it means. He responds that he simply didn’t hear him and actually knows what it is. Then he talks with his girfriend and confirms it’s just a made-up word while we see him in the background already using it in conversation.

    Fan Works 

• Calvin & Hobbes: The Series gives us «hugeoppotamousness», used to describe the vastness of the world and/or the universe. Lampshaded:

  Hobbes: That’s not a word.
  Calvin: Exactly.

• The Equestrian Civil Service Series: Apparently, there is a law on the books in Equestria (dating back several hundred years) stating that polyphiloprogeny is strictly forbidden in Equestria on pain of summary phythoplasty. Unfortunately, nobody in modern Equestria knows what either «polyphiloprogeny» or «phythoplasty» actually means. So they can’t enforce the law because they don’t know what it actually forbids or what the punishment for breaking it is supposed to be, but they can’t repeal it because they can’t debate it because they don’t know what it actually means.
• In Equestrylvania, the Chronomage tends to use his own words in place of plain English. Then again, he is based on Lewis Carroll characters, so…
• Forbiden Fruit: The Tempation of Edward Cullen: «‘I dunno maybe’ I plimpled mutely.»
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe fic «Tingle«, when Kate Bishop is trying to assure Clint Barton that Peter Parker isn’t the one who suggested that she engage in a polyamorous relationship with him and Yelena Belova, Kate states that Peter is such an opposite of a sleazebag that he’s a «gaby-zeels» («Sleazebag» spelt backwards).
• Mi Tru Lov regularly uses the word «somebloke» when Kawaiilyn is unsure of who is speaking. There’s also «tolfig» and «smileyly».
• Sword Art Online Abridged gives us this legendary exchange between a bible-thumping assassin and his long-suffering assistant as they try and murder a player named Schmitt:

  Jeffrey: It’s time to do God’s work. Because as Jesus once said, «Schmittches get stitches.»
  Johnny Black: THAT’S NOT EVEN A WORD, MUCH LESS- Oh forget it. Let’s just kill these guys and go.

• Tales of the Undiscovered Swords gives us kobigatana 侫刀, roughly meaning «fucked-up sword». It comes from the word kobihito 侫人, meaning «messed-up person», from the Man’yōshū poem Konotegashiwa’s name is taken from.
• Ultra Fast Pony: From the episode «The Pet Games»:

  Rainbow Dash: So, like, winning is good. And losing… is kind of like the opposite of good. I should come up with a word for that. I’ll call it… jerfrahghesta. So you don’t wanna jerfrahghesta. That’s not good.

    Films — Animation 

• Wreck-It Ralph gave us «Turbo-tastic!»
• In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, all Spider-People, regardless of what universe they’re from, call MacGuffins and the like «Goobers.»
• Happens a lot with the Duke of Zill in Felix the Cat: The Movie. He called. His servant. A numcrut.

    Films — Live-Action 

• Jay from The View Askewniverse likes to use the word «Snoogans» as his «I agree» catchphrase.
• Chass Michael Michaels from Blades of Glory offers the word «Mind-bottling», which may or may not be a limited vocabulary version of «Mind-boggling».
• Mary Poppins gave us «supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.»
• «Responstible» in Saving Mr. Banks, where Pamela Travers insists that The Sherman Brothers «un-make it up».
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang used «phantasmagorical» in a similar way, although that word actually dates to the turn of the 19th century.
• In Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives, Rain admits she couldn’t find a word to describe a character, so she made one up («epucious»).
• In Sleeper, Diane Keaton’s character describes a friend’s painting as «pure keane. No, it’s greater than keane…it’s cugat.» (The made-up words are a Shout-Out to ’60s schlock artist Margaret Keane and bandleader-turned-cartoonist Xavier Cugat, respectively.)
• From Kung Pow! Enter the Fist

  The Chosen One: Killing is bad. And wrong. There should be a stronger word for killing, like BADWRONG, or BADONG. Yes, killing is BADONG. From now on I shall stand for the opposite of killing; GNODAB.

• A few minutes into The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, servant Bessie tries to wake up one of her charges:

  Susan: Just five more minutes, Bessie.
  Bessie: No, ma’am, now!
  Susan: But Bessie, I feel absolutely sklonklish.

• Cannibal! The Musical has «shpadoinkle», a word used repeatedly by different characters in wildly inconsistent contexts. The word was originally used as a placeholder in the lyrics of one of the songs until Trey Parker decided that it was funnier to leave the nonsense word in, and it became a Running Gag.
• In Scary Movie 3, the guy in the lighthouse tells Cindy that she is «inexorably seeking a sedulant probability.» When she questions this, he continues, holding a dictionary with «What about contingent affirmation? That’s got to mean something.»
• In Molly’s Game, Charlie is reading Molly’s book and comments that ‘verticality’ is not a real word. Molly insists that it is and ends up emailing him a link to it in the American dictionary.
• In Mean Girls Gretchen is trying to get the term «fetch» accepted as an adjective (meaning, roughly, ‘cool’). Regina: «Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen!»
• In The Avengers Loki uses the term «quim», an obsolete derogative meaning a certain part of a woman. Of course, he is a thousand years old. Note: may be considered obsolete in the US, but is commonly used in the UK. A man who considers himself a master at pleasuring women might, for example, refer to himself as a «quim ninja.»
• In Avengers: Infinity War, after Thor tells the Guardians that they need to go to Nidavellir (which, of course, is an actual location from Norse Mythology), Drax claims it’s a made-up word. Rather than argue the point, Thor points out that all words are made up.
• In Everything Everywhere All at Once Evelyn is being briefed by Alpha Waymond on the ultimate threat facing the multiverse, an all-powerful villain known as Jobu Tupaki. Upon hearing the name an overwhelmed and frustrated Evelyn says, «You’re just making up sounds!»

    Jokes 

• An old joke: «Be alert! Your country needs lerts!» Response: «No, be aloof — we’ve got enough lerts.»
• Another Joke: «Boy to girl: Do you like Kipling? Girl to boy: I don’t know, I’ve never kippled.» Guinness reports that the most popular picture postcard ever printed had essentially this joke on it. See Donald McGill on The Other Wiki.
• A radio station organizes a contest to find a word that doesn’t exist and yet is used in everyday conversation. They get a call on air:

  «Hi, I got a word.»
  «Sure thing, caller, what is it?»
  » ‘Goan’ !»
  ‘Well, can’t find it in the dictionary, so that’s one condition down. Now use it in a sentence.
  «Goan fuck yourself!»
  The call is immediately cut, and after a brief musical interlude, the host comes back on and takes another call.
  «Sorry about that folks, you never know who’s going to call. Caller, you’re on the air, what’s your word?»
  » ‘Smee’ !»
  «OK, use it in a sentence?»
  «Smee again, goan fuck yourself!»

    Literature 

• Frindle is based completely around the protagonist making up a new word and trying to make it catch on. It means «pen.»
• In Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep, the first hint that a civilization has been taken over by the Blight is that words like «armiphlage» and «clenirations» (representing concepts the translator AI can’t handle) start creeping into its newsgroup postings.
• Pippi Longstocking once made up such a nice new word that she spent the rest of that chapter trying to find out what it could mean. In the original Swedish, this word was «spunk», which isn’t a Swedish word. In English, it’s «spink». She decided it’s a beetle.
• Spinfer, Falshed’s smarmy Hyper-Competent Sidekick in Welkin Weasels, was described as «smooling» into a room. The narrator gives this a Lampshade Hanging with: «This is not a real word, but describes the action perfectly.»
• Edward Lear invented the adjective «runcible» to provide extra syllables in his poetic writings. «Runcible spoon» (from «The Owl and the Pussycat») is now defined in dictionaries. It resembles an extremely large silver spork.
• John Milton (author of Paradise Lost) possibly surpasses Shakespeare’s inventiveness (more about that under «Theatre»); careful research suggests that he introduced six hundred and thirty words into the English Language.
• P. G. Wodehouse created a number of characters too foolish to restrict themselves to proper English, most notably Bertram Wooster. He comments once upon seeing Gussie Fink-Nottle, «I had described him then as disgruntled, and it appeared that the passage of time had done nothing to gruntle him.» On another occasion, he praises Jeeves’ remarkable ability to ‘disimbrogle’ any imbroglio.
  • Although he uses the word incorrectly, «gruntled» is a word, but «disgruntled» means «very gruntled», not «not gruntled». «Gruntle» simply means «grunt».
• Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land used «grok» to mean «to drink», «to consume», and a third sense peculiar to Martian philosophy about «knowing something in its entirety, and grasping the true essence thereof». Later became a common slang term in the geek community.
• Dave Barry in Cyberspace has two lists of anagrams generated from the name «William Gates,» one created by a computer, the other by Washington Post editor Gene Weingarten. One of Weingarten’s anagrams was «A WILT-GASM LIE.»

  When we look at these two lists, we are forced to conclude that, although the computer is very fast, it would never have come up with the concept of a «wilt-gasm.» To be honest, I had no idea what a «wilt-gasm» was until Gene explained it to me.
  «It’s a Wilt Chamberlain orgasm,» he said in an irritated voice. «It’s very funny. Just accept that.»
  «Yes!» I hastily agreed. «VERY funny! Ha ha! Get some sleep!»

• In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, three-year-old Manny Heffley invented two words: «bubby» (a term for brother) and «ploopy» (an insult).
• In Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Dirk’s Suspiciously Specific Denials, designed to convince his fellow students he has psychic powers, include denying he’s «psychosassic». And then denying the word «psychosassic» means anything anyway.
• Lewis Carroll was exceptionally fond of these, famously giving them free rein in the poem Jabberwocky:

  `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
  All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe. ^note 

• Words of Radiance (second book of The Stormlight Archive):

  Syl: All right, so what is drearifying you today?
  Kaladin: Drearifying? Is that a word?
  Syl: You don’t know?
  Kaladin: [shakes head]
  Syl: Yes. Yes, it absolutely is.

• Several words in The Eye of Argon; the «scoszctic» cult intends to sacrifice a «nerelady» who speaks «bustily» in a secret chamber under a mausoleum full of «expugnisively carved» statues.
• In The BFG, the giant does not know English very well, so makes up words, including «disastrophe» (disaster), «whopsy-whiffling», «ringbeller», «winkswiffler and «phizzwizard» (terms for pleasant dreams), «trogglehumper», «bogthumper» and «grobswitcher» (terms for nightmares), «filthsome» (disgusting) and «chiddler» (child).
• In Regis Philbin: Who Wants to Be Me?, he noted that during the peak of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? fever, there were dark suits done in the style that Regis wore on the show. Some ad execs promoted it as the «Philbinization» of neckwear. Regis was baffled at that term: «What does that even MEAN?!»
• The Secret History: «Metahemeralism,» a concept which Bunny insists exists but is at great pains to define. He nonetheless manages to base an entire essay around it—albeit the worst essay he ever wrote.

  Richard: Bunny, I don’t think «metahemeralism» is even a word.

  Bunny: Sure it is. Comes from the Latin. Has to do with irony and the pastoral. Yeah. That’s it. Painting or sculpture or something, maybe.

  Bunny: Is it in the dictionary?

  Richard: Dunno. Don’t know how to spell it. I mean [he made a picture frame with his hands] the poet and the fisherman. Parfait. Boon companions. Out in the open spaces. Living the good life. Metahemeralism’s gotta be the glue here, see?

• Discworld has a couple of «whelmed» type moments:
  • In Guards! Guards! when Angua asks who the disgruntled man is, Carrot says it’s Captain Vimes «but I don’t think he’s ever been gruntled».
  • In Jingo, after Lord Vetinari makes a sardonic comment about Colon and Nobby:

    Vimes: Sir, I hope you’re not impugning my men.
    Vetinari: Commander, Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobbs have never been pugn’d in their entire lives.

    Live-Action TV 

• 30 Rock:
  • Jack Donaghy coined the term «innoventually» during 24 straight hours of successful problem-solving (referred to, by him of course, as «Reaganing»). Of course, at the very last moment, his Reaganing (which would have been rewarded with a shower of lavish gifts) was rendered moot by his inability to solve Liz Lemon’s intimacy problem… at least not until after the 24 hours had elapsed. It Makes Sense in Context… the Reaganing, not «innoventually».
  • Also, «Whuck…?» from Liz.
  • Another one from Liz: snart, a simultaneous sneeze and fart.
• Arrested Development gave us «analrapist», a combination of analist and therapist. Given the word’s inventor was Tobias Funke, he’s completely oblivious to the fact it looks like «anal rapist».
• In the final episode of Ashes to Ashes (2008), Gene Hunt declares that he can transfer Alex Drake from CID because she is «causing disconsternation amongst her male colleagues.» To which Alex immediately replies that «Disconsternation is not a word.»
• A common occurrence in A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Most notably on a scene that has allegedly been censored of its swear words, where they make up their own obscenities instead, including: «prunk», «fusk», «cloffing», «pimhole» and «pempslider» (which appears to be the foulest of the lot).
• Blackadder, trying to confuse the writer of a well-known dictionary:

  Dr. Samuel Johnson: [places two manuscripts on the table, but picks up the top one] Here it is, sir. The very cornerstone of English scholarship. This book, sir, contains every word in our beloved language.
  Blackadder: Every single one, sir?
  Dr. Samuel Johnson: Every single word, sir!
  Blackadder: Oh, well, in that case, sir, I hope you will not object if I also offer the Doctor my most enthusiastic contrafribularities.
  Dr. Samuel Johnson: What?
  Blackadder: «Contrafribularities», sir? It is a common word down our way.
  Dr. Samuel Johnson: Damn! [writes in the book]
  Blackadder: Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I’m anispeptic, frasmotic, even compunctuous to have caused you such pericombobulation.

  • Johnson later goes ballistic when he realises that Baldrick knows a word that’s not in the dictionary, namely «sausage».
  • Oh, and Blackadder mentions another Johnson forgot: «aardvark».
  • «I shall return… interfrastically.»
• The Colbert Report:
  • On its inaugural show they created and defined the word «truthiness» (defining reality by what feels in your gut like it should be true, rather than what is actually true.) which went on to become a runaway hit, starting with getting chosen as the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year for 2005.
  • Also, wikiality: the concept that something is taken to be true if enough people think it is.
• On The Cosby Show, Rudy invented the word zrbrt: to kiss someone on the cheek while blowing a raspberry. Rudy invented the spelling (at random). Cliff invented the definition.
• One bit on The Daily Show parodied a string of recent corporate mergers by having correspondent John Hodgman «merge» with Merriam-Webster to produce a new dictionary, with words like «greeb» (greed, for the 2010s instead of the 1980s) and «engrocious» («a lot», which it kind of sounds like, no?). Later in the conversation, we get «overlargement» and «naiviotically».
• Deadliest Catch gives us »Crabalanche» which is what you get when you dump a freshly retrieved container filled with crab onto the sorting table.
• Doctor Who: In «The Runaway Bride», Donna Noble accuses the Doctor of making stuff up when she finds herself snatched from her wedding.

  Donna: What is this place?
  The Doctor: The TARDIS.
  Donna: The what?
  The Doctor: It’s called the TARDIS.
  Donna: That’s not even a proper word!

• Friends:

  Joey: If he doesn’t like you, this is all a moo point.^note 
  Rachel: Huh. A moo point?
  Joey: Yeah, it’s like a cow’s opinion. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo.
  Rachel: Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?

  • In an earlier episode, Chandler, bemoaning his pickiness with women, once mentioned he broke up with a girl for (mis)pronouncing a word, «supposebly» (meant to be «supposedly».) The incorrect version seems to stick with Joey, though.
  • Another episode had Rachel refer to Chandler’s job as a «Transponster» to which Monica replies «That’s not even a word!»
• How I Met Your Mother:
  • In one episode Marshall says he’s been using made up words to avoid lying to Lily. «Are you going to quit and work for the NRDC?» «Absatively!»
  • «The Possimpible»: Nexus between the Possible and the Impossible. When questioned on it Barney claims that making up words shows «vision and creativity — ‘visiativity'».
• Horrible Histories: Combined with Last-Second Word Swap in the ‘Historical First Dates’ sketch on the «Ridiculous Romantics» special. Catherine Howard attends her first date with Henry VIII accompanied by Francis Dereham. When Henry asks who he is, Francis starts to say he’s her boyfriend, but is kicked by Catherine under the table after he says «boyfr…», and Catherine hurriedly finishes the sentence by saying «Boyfr…ump! It’s a new word meaning companion. Or servant.»
• In Hustle, Mickey and Emma have a long debate over whether ‘stickability’ is a word. Mickey insists that if it isn’t, then it should be.
• iCarly: In «iAm Your Biggest Fan», Carly tells Mandy that they need «fladoodles» for their web show just to get her off their backs. Sam asks what it is, but Carly says that she just made it up. Mandy somehow manages to find a packet of them anyway. Mandy had to go down to the ethnic district to find them however.
• In The Inbetweeners, Will drunkenly insults Neil’s Ambiguously Gay dad by calling him a «bumder», later explaining that it’s a cross between ‘bummer’ and ‘bender’ (both of which are pejorative British slang terms for a homosexual man).
• From the first episode of The IT Crowd:

  «We’re nothing but drudgens to them!»
  «Yes. If there were such a thing as a drudgen, that is what we’d be to them.»

  • It’s actually «drudgeon,» which is a real word. It’s unlikely Moss wouldn’t know this, given his abilities on Countdown in a later series.
  • Later, Jen is drunk.

  «You’re used to being social piranhas.»

  • A later episode has Jen and Roy arguing over the cromulence of ‘damp squid’ rather than ‘damp squib’.
  • When Moss appears on Countdown, he insists that the randomly-selected letters already spell a word, «tnetennba.» When asked to use it in a sentence, he says: «Good morning, that’s a nice tnetennba.»
• Just Shoot Me!:
  • Finch and Eliot replace Nina’s word-a-day calendar with one filled with Perfectly Cromulent Words right before she goes for a radio interview, in which she uses them all. Link here.
  • The word «ass-tastic» is apparently common in their magazine.
• M*A*S*H:
  • One episode has Hawkeye imitating Charles Winchester on the telephone, employing the latter’s typical Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness. At one point he uses the word «sidacious», then covers the receiver with his hand and admits to B.J. and Klinger that he just made it up.
  • In another episode, Charles has to deal with a wounded GI who moonlights as a securities salesman and keeps pestering the other patients in post-op. He finally shuts the guy up by telling him he’s damaged his «latrickium» and is in danger of permanently losing his voice if he doesn’t go 48 hours without talking.
• In a Monty Python’s Flying Circus sketch, the word «splunge» is coined by frightened screenwriters to provide temporary respite from tyrannical Hollywood producer Irving C. Saltzberg. It means, «It’s a great idea, but possibly not, and I’m not being indecisive!» ^note 
• On Mr. Show, a character was introduced as «Edmund Premington is a hunter, an explorer, a novelist, and an adventurer; a travelliare, an explorist, and a noveller.»
• In the Escape Slide Parachute episode of MythBusters, the word «criminy» (uttered by Adam) gets this treatment by the narrator, who assumes that Adam just made the word up. («Criminy» is an actual word, if rather old.) The narrator would have known this if he had watched a single episode of Hey Arnold!, where Helga said this word so frequently as to really make it her own. Gary Larson also used it quite a few times in The Far Side.
• NewsRadio:
  • Beth invents a word to see if it will catch on («If my boyfriend acted like that, I would go absolutely bitchcakes»). By the end of the episode, the radio station’s owner, Jimmy James, is using it. Perversely, the word actually did catch on, in a small way, in the real world: it’s in the Urban Dictionary and everything.
  • There’s also the word «gazzizza». It’s kind of like a street «aloha».
• During the 1980s. Rich Hall did a segment of the HBO series Not Necessarily the News called «sniglets», which means, «a word that should be in the dictionary, but isn’t,» where they made up new words for things or conditions that didn’t have them. Some of the words included lactomangulation, the opening of a paper milk carton from the «illegal» side; carperpetulation for the practice of repeatedly vacuuming an area to remove an item before picking it up manually; and krogt, the silver coating you have to scrape off to expose the value on lottery tickets. One word they invented, flopcorn, popcorn kernels that remained uncooked, was used by at least one popcorn manufacturer in their magazine ads to describe a problem more prevalent with competitor products.
• Not the Nine O’Clock News: Gerald, the Talking Gorilla uses the term ‘Flange’ for the collective noun of baboons. This one made it to the Ask Oxford website. ^note 
• NYPD Blue: When Andy adopts the female dog of a suicide victim he says that the dog has a problem with her «fatagus». It was a word invented for the show, but the network censors still had a problem with it.
• Michael from The Office (US) does this often, frequently within a Malaproper.

  Michael: We’re not disgruntled! Everyone here is perfectly gruntled.

Humorously, the word «gruntled» is a real word, used correctly by Michael in this context.

• Red Dwarf features «Jozxyqk,» which the Cat claims is a word his people scream when «you get your sexual organs trapped in something.» Whether he’s lying to win at Scrabble is unclear.
• Sam & Cat: the episode «Lumpatious» starts when the kid Sam and Cat are babysitting tells his jerk of a big brother «Why do you have to be so… lumpatious?» which he proceeds to make fun of him over. Sam and Cat proceed to bet that they will prove «Lumpatious» is a real word and the episode centers around them trying to get the word accepted into the Oxnard Dictionary.
• On The Sarah Silverman Program, in the episode «Kangamangus», Sarah tries to coin a new word and comes up with «ozay» (hard to define, but when you just feel…ozay). Her attempts to popularize it pale next to the organic spread of «dotnose», which Brian comes up with accidentally when Steve is so stubborn that he won’t acknowledge a marker dot on his own nose despite everyone mentioning it. Others find «dotnose» offensive for no particular reason (other than that it sounds insulting), and at a dictionary induction ceremony, Brian and Steve are threatened with the «kangamangus» (a very specific physical retribution).
  • «Kancamagus» is the name of a scenic highway in New Hampshire.
• Saturday Night Live:
  • In a sketch parodying Inside the Actors Studio, Will Ferrell (impersonating James Lipton) describes Charles Nelson Reilly’s (Alec Baldwin) performance as so great that no word in English can do it justice, and that he must invent a new word right now to properly convey its greatness: Scrumtrulescence. The performance was scrumtrulescent. Xzibit has gone on to use this word in episodes of Pimp My Ride.
  • Spoofing Bush’s supposed lack of intelligence (even if the sketch is from before his first election): the mediator of the Gore-Bush debate asks them for a one-word «best argument for the campaign». Bush’s word is «Strategery». In a joking Take That! at his critics, Bush and other members of his administration continued to drop the word «strategery» into public statements, and it was used as the title of a book about the President which depicted a disconnect between his shrewd political savvy as represented in the book, and his bumbling buffoonery as represented by his enemies.
• On Seinfeld, when Elaine gets the New Yorker editor to admit the cartoon he printed makes no sense. ^note 

  Editor: It’s a slice of life.
  Elaine: No it isn’t.
  Editor: A pun?
  Elaine: I don’t think so.
  Editor: Vohrstein?
  Elaine: …That’s not a word.

• Stargate SG-1: In «The Fifth Race», Jack O’Neill begins using seemingly made-up words, albeit without realizing he is doing so. As it turns out, he’s speaking Ancient.

  O’Neill: I’ve lost the falatus to speak properly!

• Fans of Star Trek have created a dictionary of perfectly Romulan words.
• That ’70s Show: In «Trampled Under Foot», Fez has an Imagine Spot where he wonders what it will be like to have Hyde, Eric, and Kelso teach him how to get girls.

  Eric: Aloofer? Is that even a word?

  Hyde: We can make it a word. We have the technology.

• The Thick of It gives us (in addition to the usual stream of creative insult combinations), the single word «omnishambles«, which has since been used repeatedly in Real Life.
• Veronica’s Closet: One of the characters makes up the word «acribitzed» (synonym for «went up» or «increased»), then drops it in an article hoping that it will take off. It does.
• The Vicar of Dibley: Jim and Frank come over, interrupting Geraldine’s rendezvous with David’s brother (long story). They have a crossword question. She makes up the word «ploddipop» to get them out of the house.
• Victorious: «Oh my God, she’s having heart confarctions!!»
• In Will & Grace, Grace says «I’m spramped if I do, I’m spramped if I don’t!» and Jack corrects her on her usage. This is a reference to Jack’s Kwyjibo earlier in the episode.
  • «Spramped» has since become a «real» word, meaning splashing a liquid up against a surface, creating foam and turbulence. For instance, the tradition of tossing a bucket of water against someone’s face, or waves hitting a cliff face.
• The whole point of the short-lived 1986-87 NBC game show Wordplay (the final show hosted by Tom Kennedy). Two contestants would try to earn cash by choosing obscure words of this type and try to pick the right meaning out of three given by celebrity guests.
• In the episode «How The Ghosts Stole Christmas» of The X-Files, the ghosts use a number of psychological tactics to mess with Mulder and Scully, at one point gives a summation of why Mulder sucks with a unique insult.

  Maurice: You’ve probably convinced yourself you’ve seen aliens. You know why you think you see the things you do?
  Mulder: Because I have seen them?
  Maurice: ‘Cause you’re a lonely man. A lonely man chasing paramasturbatory illusions that you believe will give your life meaning and significance and which your pathetic social maladjustment makes impossible for you to find elsewhere. You probably consider yourself passionate, serious, misunderstood. Am I right?
  Mulder: …’Paramasturbatory’?

• You Have Been Watching:

  Charlie Brooker: I used up every negative word known to man to describe John Barrowman’s ‘Tonights the Night’, so when ‘Totally Saturday’ came along I was forced to invent the word ‘Shittifying’.

• Young Sheldon: Georgie calls himself an «entrepreneurialist» instead of «entrepreneur». When Veronica notes that it’s not a real word, Georgie says he’ll gladly invent a new word for her.

    Music 

• «Sussudio», courtesy of Phil Collins.
• Through Creedence Clearwater Revival we have «chooglin'», from two of their songs in Bayou Country. The word itself refers to generally having a good time.
• Digital Underground, «The Humpty Dance»: «I use a word that don’t mean nothin’, like ‘looptid’.»
• «Fire Coming Out of a Monkey’s Head» from Demon Days by Gorillaz, Dennis Hopper describes the eruption of The Mountain Called Monkey as «a catastrophany». Presumably, this is a portmanteau of «Cacophony» and «Catastrophe».
• Bon Iver has ‘fide’ and ‘fane’ from «Perth.» Fane is a genuine word, meaning «temple». Fide, not so much, unless he’s speaking Latin.
• Lampshaded as MC Frontalot acknowledges that «possibleness is not a cromulent word» in «Nerdcore Rising.»
• Songdrops:
  • In «The Sneeze Song», the word «snoze» is used in place of «sneeze» to rhyme first with «nose», then with «knows».
  • In «The Day You Told Me Your Name», the word «snugglicious» is used as a term of endearment.
• The Steve Miller Band speaks of the pompatus of love in «Enter Maurice» and «The Joker.»
  • Interestingly, the term may have been borrowed from The Medallions’ «The Letter», which mentioned «the puppetudes of love» (and also coined the term «pizmotality»).
• Tears for Fears: «Mad World» features the lyric «Halargian world»; this gibberish word was an in-joke among the band about a fictional planet named Halarge. Some cover versions misinterpret it as «Enlarging your world».
• Frank Zappa: Introduced the word «plooking» (sexually frisking each other) and «blobulent suit» (a space suit in a B-movie).
• Fergalicious, definition: make them boys go loco!

    Podcasts 

• Andy Zaltzman (and occasionally John Oliver), of the podcast The Bugle, is king of these. Highlights include «fuckeulogy» (a send-off of someone who really isn’t deserving of a respectful eulogy, such as Osama bin Laden), «credibiliboost» (an improvement of one’s public reputation) and «swearobics» (I’ll, uh, leave you to figure that one out).

    Professional Wrestling 

• In the WWF in 1996, there was a tag team called the Bodydonnas, made up of Skip (Chris Candido) and Zip (Tom Prichard.) No definition seems to exist other than that it was the name of a tag team.

    Puppet Shows 

• Team America: World Police has variations on «valmorphanize» (e.g. «valmorify») which is used by characters to describe every bit of Applied Phlebotinum in the film.

    Theatre 

• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee combines this with Schr�dinger’s Gun: a few audience members are selected to compete in the eponymous bee. Most of the words they get are real, but these tend to be thrown out when the play needs to declare a spelling correct/incorrect regardless of the spelling the audience member attempts. «Catarjunes» is one such example, evidently an exclamation of despair from mariners in distress.
• William Shakespeare is famous for this. Google it. Of course, there is some argument as to whether he was the first to use the words, or simply the first to write them down. Due to the vast number of words he «made up,» it seems likely that it’s some of both. Regardless, he is credited with introducing two hundred and twenty-nine words into the English language. Due to his creativity with the language, he has had perhaps more influence on English than any other individual.
• Wicked has a number of these being used by corrupt headmistress/press secretary Madame Morrible, including «definish» (as in «definite»…ish), «braverism» and «surreptitially». This suits her character well. Also, G(a)linda gives us confusifying. Yep. Confusifying.
  • G(a)linda has several more, including the word «rejoicify» in her character intro at the start of the play.
  • Such words show up throughout the play, usually out of the blue or in the middle of not-so-important song lyrics. For example, in «Loathing» the student body describes Elphaba as «disgustingified.»
• «Shipoopi» in The Music Man.

  Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
  The girl who’s hard to get
  Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
  But you can win her yet

    Video Games 

• Jade Empire features a character, Qui the Promoter, who talks almost entirely like this, including a Shout-Out to the Simpsons quote at the top of the page.

  Qui the Promoter: This is turning out to be an excellent day. Most austipacatious indeed!
  Spirit Monk: «Austi…» Don’t you mean «auspicious?»
  Qui the Promoter: I apologize if I’m using words beyond your grasp. Very few people can match either the supply or the command of my language.
  Spirit Monk: Seriously, you’re using the wrong words. It makes you sound like a fool.
  Qui the Promoter: Don’t get flusterated. Everything I say is perfectly cromulent, and it might do you well to embiggen your vocabulary before you fling accretions my discretion.

• This is the source of a running gag in Fable II. You see, it turns out that there’s a new thesaurus being published in Albion…
• Oghren in the Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins does this in the course of drunkenly thanking the Warden Commander for saving him in combat: «There was that guy, and he was all ‘Rrrrr!’ and I was ‘Hrrr!’ and then I got hit by an arrow. Then I fell over, and it was ‘meep!’ But you were there and you were all ‘Roaarr!’ Ha! Spectaculous!» To which the PC may choose to respond «That’s not even a word!»
• Gwonam in Faces of Evil: Squadala, we’re off!
• The Carpenter in Alice: Madness Returns speaks in this manner with some regularity.
• Sly Cooper: The Murray hopes you were not harmed by his meteoropic entrance, for the Thunder Flop knows neither friend nor foe, only destruction!
• The dialog of Mr. Pages from Fallen London is full of this. Also see its Twitter feed for many examples.
• The famous «spoony bard» line of Final Fantasy IV was often assumed to be this trope in action, or simply a humorous mistranslation. Many are surprised to find that «spoony» is, in fact, a real English word with a definition that fits perfectly for the situation. For those who are too lazy to look it up, it means «sentimentally or foolishly amorous.» Humorously lampshaded by Tom Slattery, who handled the retranslation for Final Fantasy IV DS: «The bard was spoony. We checked!»
• Sometimes words in dialogue in the Pok�mon Vietnamese Crystal bootleg slur together into one monster word. For example, «NOT» + «HARMONIOUS» = «NOTHARMONIOUS».
• Viewtiful Joe: Joe mishears the word «beautiful» when Alastor describes his fighting style, and «Viewtiful» worms its way into the game’s lexicon. Your score is rated in Viewtifuls, you get a Viewtiful score bonus, and the highest ranking is Rainbow V for Viewtiful!
• The word «revengeance» from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. First joke everyone makes about the game and is often met with the explanation of it being an archaic word.
• Moshi Monsters has a lot of these, including «anymoshi» for anyone, «monsterlicious» and «scrum-dilly-icious» for «delicious» and a lot of words that are said to mean «totally awesome». ^note 
• Persona:
  • The sequel to Persona 4: Arena is Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, a combo of «Ultra» and «Max». Interestingly, this comes from the Japanese title, Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold.
    • And yet, there’s a gun named Ultimax 100. Turns out they didn’t make it up.
  • In Persona 5, Yusuke describes his corrupt mentor Madarame’s Mental World as «abominous».
• One Sunken Scroll in the first Splatoon advertises the latest album from in-universe band Squid Squad, calling it «an aural buffet of squidiosyncratic psychedelicacy.»
• Sans from Undertale counts how many times you’ve died to him on the No Mercy path. After the third time he poses the question of what comes after «thrice»^note . Engage him in a rematch again and he tells you that you’ve died to him «quice» in a row. He just uses «x times in a row» afterward.

  Sans: «quice? frice? welp, won’t have to use it again anyways.»

• In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, there is the Meriff of Concordia. After taking office, he created the title for himself by combining the words «mayor» and «sheriff». Also, there’s the word «Pre-Sequel» in the title. Handsome Jack takes credit for that one.
• Plants vs. Zombies has the Cherry Bomb brothers who can’t decide whether to explode or detonate, so they decide to ‘explodonate’ instead.
• Mario & Luigi: Dream Team: Bedsmith likes to describe Prince Dreambert as being «Oh-So-Nappable». As in, he really, really wants to nap on him.
• Deadly Rooms of Death features a rare case of a cromulent word being used for a game mechanic, with the room coordinate system—when describing a room’s coordinates, it will describe it in terms of rooms north/south/east/west from the entrance. Once, twice, and thrice are used as standard, but starting from 4 rooms over in 1 direction, «Quarce» is used, followed by «quince» for 5, «sence» for 6, «septence» for 7, «octence» for 8, «novence» for 9, «tonce» for 10, «elevonce» for 11, «twolce» for 12, «thorce» for 13, «quartonce» for 14, «quintonce» for 15, «sextonce» for 16, «septonce» for 17, «octonce» for 18, and finally «noventonce» for 19. Past that, the game simply uses the shorthand form of coordinates.

    Visual Novels 

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney:
  • Trials and Tribulations features a case where the accused may or may not have dancingly descended onto the crime scene.
  • In the first game, noted business man and murderer Redd White tends to use cromulent words in his everyday speech, overlapping with Malaproper. This «verbosity» is an attempt to make himself appear smarter than he actually is. ^note 

    Redd White: You wish to know the title of my personage?

  • Lotta Hart also qualifies. Reckgiven! Short for «You reckon? That’s a given!»

    Web Animation 

• The flash slideshow on Flickr currently offers the option to «embiggen» pictures that are too small for the screen.
• Homestar Runner characters seem to make up a good portion their language on the fly. The bizarre thing is it’s usually perfectly clear what they mean even when the words are completely random (e.g. «This electricity bill is pretendous!). Strong Bad even contemplated making an entire dictionary «fo’ his own words». Similar gems include «fangoriously», «jibblies» and «burninated.»

    Web Comics 

• This is part of Marcus’ schtick in 1/0, with a dash of Delusions of Eloquence.
• The first chapter of Castlevania: House of morons , has a skeleton minion telling Alucard that the other minions were reporting a discovered «Problematicacy» to Dracula. Even Alucard had to ask if the made-up word was necessary.
• This Penny Arcade has two examples, one of which is from Real Life.
• In This 8-Bit Theater, Black Mage runs out of words to describe how much he hates Fighter… so he has Red Mage come up with a new one. Red Mage offers up «hateriffic», «meganger», «anathemalice», «ragenomic», «omniloathe», and «abhorrination». Black Mage chooses «omniloathe».
  • Fighter returns the favor with Friendlicious, paloramic, and ultrabuddy
  • Fighter has a flashback to his teacher, Vargas, reciting the Jabberwocky poem. Young Fighter calls him out on making up words.
• Yeager in Nodwick managed to invent an Eighth Deadly Sin — which he duly termed Blasphotrociterra-o-rama.
• Malamanteau is a perfectly cromulent word, though xkcd disagrees.
• The Order of the Stick gives us this biollorky example.
• Lampshaded in The Adventures of Dr. McNinja with Dukeicide.

  Ben Franklin: Yes. There is a law that means I may have just committed dukeicide.
  Alt Text: Dukeicide is not a real word.

• MS Paint Adventures makes a Running Gag of applying this to sci-fi gadgets, starting with the Pumpkin Appearifier from Jailbreak. Meanwhile, in Homestuck, the otherwise linguistically stringent Jane is quite defensive about the cromulence of the word «shalln’t.»
• Sluggy Freelance:
  • Millard Dynam Stoop trying to create a Significant Anagram:
  • The next comic…

    Lord Moldypants: Where the hell is Torg? Was anyone watching him? Anyone?
    William Wotcherclaws: Forgive us! We were all too slorddly, master!

• Times Like This: Cassie invents «Voljack» — and goes back a century to put it in the dictionary — all just to win a «Words With Friends» game.
• Irregular Webcomic! gives us the «splanch», a fictional organ which many alien characters apparently possess, as evidenced by the many declarations of «Ow! My splanch!».
  • In the commentary, the author admits that although he didn’t know it at the time of writing «splanch» is actually a real word, but means something entirely different (it’s a style of house architecture).
  • While «splanch» isn’t anatomical, «splanchnic» means «related to the intestines».
• The Perry Bible Fellowship gave us the words «Weeaboo» and «Skub«. «Weeaboo» was a nonsense word in the comic where it appeared, but became a synonym for «wapanese» meaning «wannabe Japanese» after it was used as a word filter for «wapanese» on /b/, eventually becoming a more popular insult than «wapanese». «Skub» in the comic it originally appeared in was the name of a product of unknown purpose that two people wearing shirts that say «Pro Skub» and «Anti Skub» get into a violent fight over, and so the word gained use as a term for something that causes arguments and rage.
• Mentioned in The Rant for #349 of Grrl Power (the author is discussing how he thinks there should be a better word than «demarcation» when describing wealth).
• In El Goonish Shive, Adrian Raven comments on the subtitle of the «Sister II» arc questioning if «awakenings» is even a word.
• Unsounded: When Sette is saying Uaid is good for walking people places, but not so much for fighting, she says «S’orright for pedestration but don’t got much fight in it.«

    Web Original 

• Blogger/humorist James Lileks is known for popularizing «contrude». An example from The Bleat — May 1997- «Don’t contrude with my train of thought, I’m on to something here»
• In 2011, blogger/author Allie Brosh came up with the definition for «alot.» According to her, «The Alot is an imaginary creature that I made up to help me deal with my compulsive need to correct other people’s grammar. It kind of looks like a cross between a bear, a yak and a pug[.]» The Alot has since become a fairly popular meme. People have created icons, paintings, sculptures and cakes to look like the Alot.
• In one article for Cracked, Michael Swaim coins the term «presturbating» — the act of masturbating to the porn that gets you horny enough to watch the porn that really gets you off, because you’re dead inside. (It can also mean «masturbating a priest».)
• Skippy’s List has examples:
• The SCP Foundation has SCP-566, a «word a day calendar» which lists definitions for these. Which would be fine, except that people who read it become absolutely convinced that they’re normal words, and become violently angry at anyone who tells them that they aren’t real words. It has since been changed and it doesn’t have that effect anymore. Instead, some of the words describe highly anomalous subjects, actions, or events.
• Giant Bomb‘s video player has an «Embiggen» option to enlarge the player and centre it on the page. This then turns into the «Debiggen» option, which puts it back to normal.

    Web Videos 

• In a video of Atomic Shrimp, Shrimp makes up words to confuse various scammers. These words include «glarded», «nearter», «whatevery», and so forth. Eventually, he even uses a website to generate words!
• Done in a c-span type episode of The Onion where a senator starts to use the word «Pronk» in his vocabulary (it’s supposed to be used in the positive, as in «These pancakes were pronking delicious!»). Hilarity Ensues when said senator replaces 95 percent of his vocabulary with prank. Interesting note: «Pronk» IS a real word. It’s actually a very rare gait in some ungulates, where all four legs push simultaneously to bounce around. Mostly used by springboks, which are actually named for it. It’s also known as «stotting». A better example would be Pinkie Pie, though.
• Channel Awesome members often combine insults into new words because normal insults just aren’t strong enough to deal with the crap they are dealing with. Highlights include Linkara’s «Idiostuperiffic» for insanely dumb people or plots, and The Nostalgia Critic’s «Supercrapafuckerifficexpialibullshit» — a film so bad the censors really oughta go and pull it.
• In the Slenderfandom, people will often affix «Slender» to the beginning of Slenderman-related words. Also, it’s common to refer to that thing he does when he’s not really doing anything but he’s really scary for some reason as «slendering around».
• On Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, J’s new boss Jesus (not Jesus Christ) comes up with the word «teffort» which is a combination of the words «team» and «effort».
• Caddicarus frequently uses the made-up word «cyoar», the definition of which will not be mentioned here.
• Hermitcraft Server: After being smacked by the «Dare Stick,» Grian was challenged to invent a three-syllable word and to use it in conversation to fool the other Hermits into believing it’s a real word. The result: «Chobblesome,» which according to Grian, means «worthy of discussion».
• Lowtax has coined the use of «ploishing»^note  to refer to falling out of the game map and into the skybox, whether done intentionally or accidentally.
• Bad Lip Reading: During the video «Democratic National Convention», Barack Obama lists several words that sound like real words but aren’t, including; hondish, coddlesip, eubillicant, respeciment, complectogram and toelingus.
• Scott The Woz opens his «2D to 3D» episode by coining a new word to describe «that dimension fever we all have from time to time.» The new word is «dimentia.»
• The Cinema Snob ends his review of Slumber Party Massacre II with a poll on his next review, all based on Independence Day, inspired by its upcoming sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence («Which ever one wins, I fucking lose!«). The choices are an Asylum parody, Independence Daysaster («Cause that’s a fucking word») and a porn parody, Inrearpendence Day («That one, however, totally a word»). To his surprise, the winner — by a massive margin — is the unrelated 1983 Domestic Abuse drama Independence Day (he complains about this in a later poll: «If you didn’t vote because you thought the porn movie would win, grrrr, don’t do that!«).

    Western Animation 

• A number of cartoons have used the nonsense word «tralfazz». Looney Tunes, The Jetsons, Phineas and Ferb…
• The ones in Adventure Time usually derive from the dialogue’s wordplay-filled style. Examples include «wrongteous» (opposite of «righteous»), and «manlorette party» (what else do you call the male equivalent of a bachelorette party?). There’s also the PG equivalent of «Oh my God» wherein they instead use the phrase «Oh my Glob».
• In the The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius episode «The Incredible Shrinking Town», Jimmy, Carl and Sheen coax the Space Bandits Zix, Travoltron and Tee to fight each other pretending to be their consciences. As they argue, Travoltron call Zix a «chazazeech» which Zix says isn’t even a word.
• Centaurworld: In «Bunch O’ Scrunch», the terminology related to the eponymous party game consists of fairly unusual words like Sniff-Snirk, Splurf-Dorrf and Sflü.
• The Critic: Duke Phillips pays Webster’s Dictionary to include the word «quzybuk» (meaning «a big problem») in order to win a game of Scrabble. He also paid them to add the word «dukelicious.» When he learns that nobody’s using it, he mutters «What a duketastrophe.» In a later scene, a scientist refers to a situation as «a real quzybuk».
• Duckman episode «Vuuck, as in Duck» has several characters use the word «Brobdingnagian» in casual conversation throughout the episode. After the third use of the word, Cornfed just gives up and gives the definition to the audience.

  Simonia: Doesn’t Duckman care if we improve our baseball skills? You’re not supposed to win games just because you’re attractive or sexy or curvaceous or Brobdingnagian. You’re supposed to win because you’re good!
  Duckman: We’re supposed to win! We’re supposed to spend the next three months in a hotel suite signing 500 baseballs a day! We’re supposed to be spitting up limited edition Dixie Cups used chaw! We’re supposed to be making Brobdingnagian sums of money!
  Simon Desmond: My profit could have been Brobdingnagian!
  Cornfed: Oh for heaven’s sake. Brobdingnagian, adjective, of immense or enormous size or quantity.

  • It’s a real word, derived from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The land of the giants is called Brobdingnag.
• Lampshaded in The Emperor’s New School:

  «Yzmopolis, There’s no Stopolis!» «Hey, that’s not a word» «It is to me!»

• Parodied in Family Guy.

  Peter Griffin: A degenerate, am I? Well, you’re fastezio! See, I can make up words too!.

• Futurama:
  • In the future, they reinvent a bunch of current words more or less by accident, like «automocar» and «cellphone telephone».
  • In one episode, they state that the word «ask» has been replaced by «aks», as in, «I want to aks you a question.» The writers were consistent with this from then on. Of course, there are some American dialects where it’s already pronounced that way. And «ax» (pronounced aks) is an archaic English word for «ask», dating back at least to Beowulf.
  • When Fry makes a «Uranus» joke and no one gets it, Professor Farnsworth tells him the planet was renamed years ago to stop those same childish jokes. The new name? «Urectum».
• Garfield and Friends:
  • In «Learning Lessons», the Buddy Bears try to make the show more educational by interrupting an otherwise «normal» episode to provide trivia on anything that came up in conversation. Irritated, Garfield asks them what they know about «gazorninplats», and after they’re unable to find any information on it, they give up and leave. It backfires at the end of the episode when G&F is «cancelled» for The Gazorninplat Hour.
  • «The Longest Doze» features a Show Within a Show hosted by a character named Fred Gazorninplat. Garfield claims that the host changed his name to get the job and that he used to be called Sam Gazorninplat. The same episode also includes the Gazorninplat Book of World Records.
  • In part 2 of «Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarves», Roy is refusing to kiss Snow Wade so she wakes up, but then reads the story and is happy to do it because he learned he gets «20 million gazortniks».

    Roy: I don’t know what a gazortnik is, but 20 million of anything makes ya filthy rich!

  • «Double Trouble Talk» has Roy taking a double-talk class, where he learns how to get out of doing any of his work by spouting off excuses with nonsense words, such as «I had to go to the wukleman and have my creel oblicated.»
• Kaeloo: Stumpy frequently invents his own words, like «tentacools», and insists that they are real words.

  Kaeloo: Don’t you mean «tentacles»?
  Stumpy: No, I mean «tentacools».

  • There’s actually a Pokémon called Tentacool (a jellyfish-like creature). It evolves into Tentacruel.
• Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness: In «Father Crime», Shifu’s Con Man father peppers his speech with these to bamboozle his marks.
• In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode «Look Before You Sleep», Applejack claims to be «the get-alongingest pony you’re ever gonna meet!», and Rarity retorts «That’s not even a word.»
  • Gets a bit of a Call-Back in season 2 premiere «The Return of Harmony, Part 1», when the Cutie Mark Crusaders have this exchange (for added fun, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are Applejack and Rarity’s respective little sisters):

    Apple Bloom: Cool! … If you were actually victory-ful at something.
    Sweetie Belle: That’s not a word!
    Scootaloo: What are you, a dictionary?

  • And comes full circle in the movie My Little Pony: Equestria Girls when Pinkie Pie coins the word «nervouscited» (nervous + excited), and Applejack says, «You do realize that’s not a real word, right?»
• An entire episode of Recess revolves around T.J. making up a new word («whomp», as in, «Man, this whomps!»). He is punished, because most of the adults assume it must be a ‘bad’ (dirty) word. In truth, he made up the word as a minced oath so he wouldn’t get in trouble anymore. After a good deal of irony and courtroom antics, it’s decided that the word is up to anyone’s interpretation since it was made up, and «Those who think it has a dirty meaning probably have dirty minds to begin with».
• Zak from The Secret Saturdays claims ‘beautifulous’ is a word in British.
• The Simpsons is the Trope Namer. In «Lisa The Iconoclast», when a short film on Springfield’s founding being played at the school uses the word «embiggens», it prompts a skeptical Ms Krabappel to comment that she’d never heard the word before coming to Springfield, to which Ms Hoover responds with the «cromulent» line. Interestingly, the writers were unaware that «embiggen» is an actual word, learning later that the word was used as far back as 1884 by author C.A. Ward.
  • «Bart the Genius» also gives us «Kwyjibo: A fat, balding, North American ape with no chin (and a short temper).» (In context, it’s a word intended to cheat in Scrabble, which was the former trope namer for Scrabble Babble. Also notable in that, while he’s clearly making it up off the top of his head, both Lisa and Marge go along with it with little hesitation.)
  • In «On a Clear Day, I Can’t See My Sister», Homer comments, «Sir, I am disgruntled! And up until this point I was relatively gruntled!» He makes a similar statement in one episode where he wonders to himself if anyone ever gets «tracted» Though like Michael Scott above, Homer is using gruntled in the correct context.
  • In «Bart the Fink», Kent Brockman does a report about «tax avoision». When corrected by a member of the crew, he sticks to his guns: ‘I don’t say «evasion», I say «avoision».’ This is also a real word, though he’s not using it right (he uses it as a synonym for «evasion», but it refers to legally ambiguous ways of getting out of paying taxes as opposed to outright illegal ones).
  • Inverted in the episode «Barting Over» with Tony Hawk. Tony rattles off a long string of skateboarding terms, which Homer assumes he’s making up.
  • While presenting the meat industry’s quasi-educational filmstrip in «Lisa the Vegetarian,» Troy McClure coins the term «scientician,» which seems to mean either that the filmstrip didn’t want to state explicitly that its claims are endorsed by scientists, or Troy doesn’t know the word «scientist.» It could also be a portmanteau of «scientist» and «dietitian,» but that’s probably giving the presentation too much credit.
• South Park:
  • Subverted in «Worldwide Recorder Concert». The boys are mad because all the boys from New York are mocking them for not knowing what «queef» means. They invent the word «mung» to trick the New Yorkers into using a word that doesn’t exist, only to find out that it already is a word.
  • Played straight in «Hooked on Monkey Phonics.» When he becomes a finalist at the spelling bee, Kyle has to spell «krocsyldiphithic» (which is not a real word in the English language). When he asks for its definition and to hear it used in a sentence, all he gets is: «Something that has a krocsyldiph-like quality» and «Krocsyldiphithic is a hard word to spell.»
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • When SpongeBob accidentally shrinks Squidward with Mermaidman’s belt, Patrick suggests turning the belt buckle from «M» for «Mini» to «W» for «Wumbo». When SpongeBob disputes the word, Patrick goes into a mini-rant about it.

    SpongeBob: Patrick, I don’t think «wumbo» is a real word�
    Patrick: Come on… you know! I wumbo. You wumbo. He- she- me… wumbo. Wumbo; wumboing; We’ll have the wumbo; wumborama; wumbology: the study of wumbo. It’s first grade, SpongeBob!
    Squidward (Glances down as Patrick gets to ‘we’ll have the wumbo’): I wonder if a fall from this height would be enough to kill me.
    SpongeBob: Patrick, I’m sorry I doubted you.

Later, a shrunken Mermaidman asks «Did you set it to wumbo?»

• Also shows up in «The Nasty Patty», where SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs become convinced a health inspector is an impostor.

  Mr. Krabs: We’ve been duped!
  SpongeBob: Duped!
  Mr. Krabs: Bamboozled!
  SpongeBob: We’ve been smeckledorfed!
  Mr. Krabs: That’s not even a word and I agree with ya!

• Steven Universe has an episode where Lapis and Peridot have been making sculptures, but they describe what they did in really abstract terms, leading to this response. Then they call the sculptures morps for the entire episode.

  Steven: Guys, that’s art!
  Peridot: Art? That sounds ridiculous!
  Lapis: I’ve been calling it «meepmorp.»

• Young Justice:
  • Robin (Dick Grayson) is fond of taking the affixes off of words to make new ones. His favourite is «whelmed»: what you get when you’re neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed. The fandom has embraced it whole-heartedly; some are actually used for Idiosyncratic Ship Naming. Ironically, «whelmed» is a word. It means the same thing as «overwhelmed.»
  • In «Revelation», The Joker is furious that a bunch of teenagers have foiled their Evil Plan.

    Joker: Children foiled our plan? Inconceivable! Unacceptable! Retributionable! That last one might not be a word…so sue me.

    Real Life 

• This Word Does Not Exist is a machine learning algorithm that generates perfectly cromulent words.
• The word «quiz» was traditionally the result of a man betting his friends that he could invent a word and get it into the local lexicon very quickly. He then went on to scrawl the nonsense word «quiz» on various walls and alleyways around the town (possibly Dublin). Supposedly, the people who had seen it assumed they were being tested for something or another, and that’s how the word got its definition. The Other Wiki claims this is largely apocryphal.
• A «ghost word» is a cromulent word that ends up in the dictionary by mistake and leads to people thinking it’s real. One of the most famous examples is «dord», a supposed synonym for «density» which appeared in Webster’s Second New International Dictionary between 1934 and 1939 — it was based on a card reading «D or d/ density» which was spaced improperly.
• The word «nerd» was originally invented by Dr. Seuss as the name of a creature in If I Ran the Zoo.
• The word «ablexxive» started this way, with a middle-school student making it up and putting it on a vocab quiz.
• Isaac Asimov used the word «robotics» in his early Robot stories, assuming it to be a logical extension of the word «robot». Modern etymologists believe him to have been the first person to have used the term. «Robot» itself was made up for Karel Capek’s play R.U.R., as derived from robota, the Czech word for «forced labor».
• Former President George W. Bush was absolutely renowned for this, leading political columnist Molly Ivins to invent her own cromulent word to describe them: «Bushisms».
• William Shakespeare was known for making up words, although a lot of them come from adding prefixes or suffixes, or compounding two words together. Still, he invented no less than 1700 words, a lot of which are in very common use today, including «eyeball», «addiction», «bet», «hint», «lackluster», «amazement», «disheartened», «ladybird», «luggage», «rant», and «obscene» — all were probably invented by Shakespeare (or at least his usage of them is the oldest surviving written example). The perception of Shakespeare as a prolific word inventor was also reinforced by 19th century dictionary-makers preferring a Shakespearean citation for their entries if they could get one.
• Many Internet captchas use these kinds of words, especially those from Google and ReCaptcha (which, in the latter case, are always accompanied by a perfectly normal word).
• «Embiggen» has entered the lexicon as a synonym for «enlarge», mostly on the Internet, after the same scene from The Simpsons that gave us «cromulent». The most interesting use is on Language Log, populated by expert linguists, whose caption to enlarge pictures reads, «Click to embiggen».
• «Omnishambles», as introduced by The Thick of It, has seen common enough usage to be added to the online OED.
• Sometimes, if you want to be «clever», you can take a word commonly used only with a prefix — e.g. «innocent», «invincible», «underwhelmed», «disgruntled» — and remove the prefix to derive a word that means the opposite. And in many cases, these are indeed archaic but real words that mean exactly what you would think — e.g. «nocent» means «guilty», «vincible» means «capable of being overcome», «whelmed» means «reacting as one anticipated», and «gruntled» means «content». In fact, the word «flammable» was derived this way from people thinking that «inflammable» meant «fireproof» (when it actually derives from «inflame», which is to set something on fire), so now both «flammable» and «inflammable» mean the same thing.

• In 1920, mathematician Milton Kasner wrote a number on a blackboard: 1 followed by 100 zeroes (also depicted as «1e100»). He asked his nine-year-old nephew Milton Sirotta what to call it. The boy said it should be called a «googol», and the name stuck. From there, Milton coined the word «googolplex», which is a 1 followed by a googol zeroes (although his original definition was «one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired»). The search engine Google owes its name to the googol (quirkily misspelled, as tech companies like to do), and the company’s headquarters in California is appropriately called the «Googleplex».
• While making the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, director George Lucas thought up the term «greeblies» for minor details or touches to costumes, such as the code cylinders on Imperial uniforms.
• «Covfefe», a word based on a typo made in a tweet by President Donald Trump, briefly became a memetic example of this trope. It’s commonly used to mean patent nonsense such that you can’t even fathom what the person was even trying to say.^note 
• The gaffe-prone Joe Biden kicked off his 2020 campaign by talking about «hudge fund managers» and coining the word «extredible» to refer to the cuts taken by union workers.
• Bulgarian communist dictator Todor Zhivkov once commented on a semiconductor factory with a jolly, «This year semiconductors, next year whole conductors!»
• The word «hobbit» is believed to have been created by J. R. R. Tolkien to describe the protagonist of The Hobbit, a small humanoid living in a hole in the ground. It may have come from combining «hobgoblin» and «rabbit», but it may also have been influenced by the title of Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt. However, the word is also attested in a 19th-century folklore compendium (alongside hobgoblins and other sprites); Tolkien claimed to have invented the word, but he may have seen the word, forgotten about it, and then unconsciously retrieved it.
• In a note written shortly before his death, airplane hijacker David Burke used the word «ironical», presumably to mean «ironic».
• «Normalcy», coined by 19th century mathematicians and popularized when Warren G. Harding used it in a speech, where it was widely viewed as a Malapropism for «normality». Harding capitalized on the hubbub by using «Return to Normalcy» as a campaign slogan.
• A surprising amount of places in the United States have completely made-up names. These were generally conjured up in the 19th century to sound suitably Indian-sounding.
  • The name of the U.S. state of Idaho was most likely made up by a prominent settler to give it a name that sounded «Indian».
  • By far the most persistent offender was Henry R. Schoolcraft, who named at least 10 counties in northern Michigan and the source of the Mississippi River (Lake Itasca in Minnesota) by taking semi-random syllables from Latin and Arabic words to make names that sounded like they could be from an Indian language. The weirdest thing is he was fluent in Ojibwe, the actual indigenous tongue that was dominant in the regions he was working, so he could have easily come up with something in actual Ojibwe. It seems that he found making up fake names more fun/interesting. (Certainly, it wasn’t out of any disrespect for the Ojibwe people—his beloved first wife, Jane Johnson, was the granddaughter of a great Ojibwe chief and the founding mother of Ojibwe literature, and his scholarly ethnographic work on the Ojibwe and the other Native peoples of the Great Lakes region is noted for its meticulousness, objectivity, and respect for the peoples described. The main knock against his scholarship is it was badly organized.)
• We all know about the tendency for dictatorships to name themselves like democratic nations, but only one went so far as making up words to describe just how democratic they are. Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya was officially called the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya — «jamāhīrīyya» being a word that Gaddafi made up. For reference, the usual Arabic word for a republic is «jumhūrīyya», which literally translates to «public thing». (The English word «republic» originates from the Latin «res publica», which also means «public thing».) «Jamahiriya» was an attempt at pluralizing the «public» part of that, to mean something like «thing of the masses», to emphasize just how socialist this country was.
• During the COVID-19 Pandemic in April 2020 in France, a live-broadcast speech by president Emmanuel Macron on television had a typo in the subtitles written in real time by a human operator, replacing «futur» («future») by «foutur» (non-existent word looking like a portmanteau which closest equivalent would be «fuck up future»). As the incident happened while the country was in lockdown^note , this briefly became memetic, usually as Gallows Humor.
• Sarah Palin coined «refudiate» as an apparent mashup of «refute» and «repudiate.»
• While, as mentioned in Live Action TV, George W. Bush didn’t use «strategery», he malapropped the word «resonate» into «resignate».

---

Smeckledorfed

SpongeBob invents a new word for being tricked.

Alternative Title(s):
Made Up Word, Making Words Up

• Parrot Expo-WHAT?
• This Trope Name References Itself

• Phantasy Spelling

• Percussive Prevention
• Comedy Tropes

• Personal Raincloud

• Peer Pressure Makes You Evil
• QuoteSource/The Simpsons

• Permanent Elected Official

• Paused Interrupt
• Dialogue

• Perplexing Plurals

• Perfectly Arranged Marriage
• Adverbly Adjective Noun

• Permanently Missable Content

• Pardon My Klingon
• Language Tropes

• Period Piece, Modern Language

• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo
• ImageSource/Webcomics

• Play the Game, Skip the Story

The Simpsons has used and coined many neologisms for humorous effect, many of which are only used once. The most famous example is Homer Simpson’s signature annoyed grunt, «D’oh!».

Few of the following made-up words would qualify as neologisms from a strict lexicological perspective due to their extremely limited uses outside of the show. For those that have found their way into regular use, the route passes through the considerable fan-base where use of these words carries the prestige of pop-culture literacy among those who catch the references, just as among other cultural groups a clever parallel to a well-known phrase from the literary or rhetorical canon would be acknowledged.

The following is presented, then, as a glossary of words or phrases invented by the show which one or more characters use in regular speech, as though intended as real terms. This does not include names of characters, locations, or products.

A[edit]

Absotively notarino[edit]

A jokey way of saying «definitely not». «Absotively» is a portmanteau of «absolutely» and «positively». Possibly a variation on the spoonerized phrase «absotively posilutely».

In «Hurricane Neddy», Dr. Foster asks a younger Ned Flanders if he feels angry, to which the younger Ned replies uncertainly, «Absotively notarino».

Adultivity[edit]

The state or condition of being an adult.

In «Much Apu About Nothing», Kearney believes that his fake «Charles Norwood» ID will verify this for him, thus allowing him to buy beer and cheap cigars: «Here’s my ID, which confirms my adultivity.»

Ahoy-hoy[edit]

Mr. Burns’s favorite greeting. It was originally suggested by Alexander Graham Bell as the greeting to be used when answering his new invention, the telephone. Thus, Mr. Burns using it to answer the phone is really a joke about his advanced age.

Ahoy there[edit]

Another of Mr. Burns’s greetings.

Al-key-hol[edit]

Marge’s pronunciation of «alcohol» in «There’s No Disgrace Like Home» and «The War of the Simpsons».

Marge: I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there’s a little al-key-hol in this punch.

Marge: Homer, go easy on the al-key-hol.

America Junior[edit]

A term for Canada coined by Homer in «The Bart Wants What It Wants».

Homer: Why should we leave America to visit America Junior?

America’s Wang[edit]

A term coined by Homer in reference to Florida’s shape, compared to the rest of the United States, resembling a penis. («Kill the Alligator and Run»)

Homer: Florida?! But that’s America’s Wang!

Psychiatrist: They prefer «The Sunshine State».

Anti-booze[edit]

A serum featured in «The Last Barfighter». It causes anyone who drinks alcohol to develop a severe headache, sweat abundantly, break out in horns all over the body, and finally throw up. There is an antidote that can be taken as an injection.

Annual Gift Man[edit]

The fictitious translation of Santa Claus’s supposed name in Japanese. In Japan he is supposedly thought to live on the Moon. John (voiced by guest star John Waters) mentions the name in the episode «Homer’s Phobia».

Appling[edit]

The process of using Photoshop to add rosy «apple» to someone’s cheeks and make them more attractive. Waylon Smithers, Jr. apples Mr. Burns face to make him appear more benevolent on the cover of a newspaper. Seen in «Fraudcast News».

Aserose[edit]

Possessing the qualities of a pine needle. This word was used in the Spellympics in the episode «I’m Spelling as Fast as I Can».

Assal Horizontology[edit]

A term for a medical procedure coined by Dr. Nick Riviera in «King-Size Homer».

Homer Simpson tries to gain weight to get on workers’ compensation. While prescribing a diet consisting of a steady gorging process for Homer, Dr. Nick suggests that it be combined with assal horizontology. Presumably, he means lying down — or more likely, sitting on your ass in an almost horizontal position. Possible also that he means to gain so much weight causing Homer’s ass to expand horizontally

Avoision[edit]

Kent Brockman’s conflation of the words avoidance and evasion in «Bart the Fink».

Brockman used the word on the air, and when someone attempted to correct him through his earpiece, Brockman angrily replied, «I don’t say evasion, I say avoision.» This is a reference to a William Shatner outtake where he argues with his director over «sabotage»: «You say sabotage. I say sabot-age» (rhyming with the word badge).

The term avoision originated in the literature of the anti-taxation movement in the U.S. in the 1970s; it was coined to get around laws against advocating or providing advice relating to tax evasion.

B[edit]

Baditude[edit]

Attitude of a badass, as used by Bart in his introduction of Furious D, the racehorse in «Saddlesore Galactica»: «He’s the bad boy of racing. He’s got attitude and baditude [Furious D whinnies] so show him some latitude and you’ll win his gratitude. Only in America!»

Bagzooka[edit]

A bazooka that fires beanbags, as used by Lou in «Lisa the Tree Hugger».

Banjoologist[edit]

An expert in banjo based musical styles.

In the episode «Home Away from Homer», Lisa listens to a radio program on obscure music, and hears the host refer to a guest as a banjoologist, using «-ology» as the suffix for the study of a subject (or sometimes the subject itself, although this is technically incorrect).

Bartesque[edit]

An invented French word that means «being like Bart» (i.e., mischievous).

Bart: But it involves being a bit underhanded, a bit devious, a bit, as the French say: Bartesque.

Basegame[edit]

A variant of baseball, but without a ball, offered at Springfield Elementary while the school’s only ball was being repaired. Used by Principal Skinner in «My Big Fat Geek Wedding».

Bathiola[edit]

Mr. Burns’s name for a bath.

Mr. Burns: I’m going to take a bathiola, and when I get back, one of you better be laughing.

Bazongas[edit]

A term for large breasts used by Marge in «Large Marge», after she accidentally got given a boob job.

Marge:»What on Earth have you done?! My maguppies became bazongas!»

Beginualize[edit]

A mixture of «actualize» and «begin», used by a counsellor teaching Marge and Maggie the C.R.I.E. method of baby independence when Maggie becomes too clingy. Episode: «Midnight Towboy».

Counsellor: «Now her childhood can beginualize.»

Beginulate[edit]

Used by Professor John Frink as part of his pseudo-scientific jargon, merely as a more complicated verb form of «begin».

Its use appears in the «Treehouse of Horror XV» short In the Belly of the Boss:

Frink: «Let the commencement… beginulate!»

Beheadbumped[edit]

Bumped on the head. Used in «The Wettest Stories Ever Told», when Ned Flanders is knocked unconscious by Homer’s bowling ball from the roof.

Belly-Fruit[edit]

A term used by Brandine Spuckler for «baby», in «Goo Goo Gai Pan». Cletus put the newest Spuckler baby up for adoption, but it turned out he had misunderstood Brandine so they returned to the adoption agency to reclaim the baby. When Brandine saw Selma holding the baby, she hollered, «Give me back my belly-fruit!»

Bembarassed[edit]

A mispronunciation of «embarrassed» spoken by Ralph Wiggum in «Smart and Smarter».

Be-musement Park[edit]

An amusement park that bemuses instead of amuses. Coined by Ned Flanders in «I’m Goin’ to Praiseland».

Ned: Oh, Maude, I’ve turned your dream of a Christian amusement park into a be-musement park.

Homer: Don’t say that, Ned!

Ned: It is! It’s a be-musement park!

The phrase might also be intended as a play on letter grading from A-musement to B-musement. See B-movie. Whereas «B-musement» suggests the park is second rate and explains his strong spoken emphasis of the letter «b», «bemusement» suggests the attendees simply fail to understand the religious park’s message.

Betsy Bleedingheart[edit]

A person or organisation who tries to get sympathy with the public.

Mr. Burns: A non-profit organization with oil; I won’t allow it! An oil well doesn’t belong in the hands of some Betsy Bleedingheart or Maynard G. Muskievote!

Blingwad[edit]

Unclassified transformed matter. Possibly a wad of bling.

Krusty the Clown: I oughta replace it right now with that Chinese cartoon with the robots that turn into… blingwads! But I’m a lazy, lazy man.

(From the episode «The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show».)

Bloopy[edit]

A term used by Marge to describe Bart’s bulging waistline

Blubber-in-law[edit]

This is a term used by Patty and Selma to denigrate Homer. It is a play on «brother-in-law», and the fact that Homer is fat.

Blue-icide[edit]

A term used by Patty when Marge’s hair turned grey. It is a conflation of the words «blue» and «suicide».

Patty: So it’s true. Your hair committed blue-icide.

Blundering Numbskullery[edit]

Burns’ insult to an assassin who can’t do the job of killing Grampa Simpson.

Assassin: [after failing to kill Grampa] D’oh! Not again!

Burns: I can’t take much more of your blundering numbskullery.

From the episode «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish»».

Blurst[edit]

A word typed by Mr. Burns’ monkeys when they were sitting at typewriters attempting to write a book. They typed «It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times» to the disappointment of Mr. Burns.

Bolognium[edit]

An element on a highly inaccurate Periodic Table at Springfield Elementary. Due to their inability to afford an accurate Table, they have to make do with a promotional one from Oscar Mayer, which advertises their product in the information. The atomic weight of Bolognium is known to be either «delicious» or «snacktacular».

Boni[edit]

Plural of «bonus» and a linguistic wordplay (if «bonus» were a Latin singular noun, then «boni» would be the plural). Used by Mr. Burns in «‘Tis the Fifteenth Season».

Burns: All right, everyone, it’s time for your Christmas boni.

Bonus Eruptus[edit]

A medical condition coined by Dr. Nick Riviera that is described as «a terrible condition where the skeleton tries to leap out of the mouth and escape the body» in «22 Short Films About Springfield».

The term came to be when a frantic Abe Simpson demanded to see a quack. Abe’s symptoms included being «edgy», having «ants in his pants» and being «discombobulated». Dr. Nick also warned Grampa that if he didn’t calm down to receive treatment, Grampa would give himself skin failure. Dr. Nick’s prescribed treatment for Bonus Eruptus was «Trans-dental Electromicide,» which called for a golf-cart motor and a 1000-volt «Capacimator». High voltage is applied to the patient’s teeth, presumably until he is either cured or dead.

This is a reference to the common cartoon trope of a skeleton escaping a character’s mouth in fright, and possibly a reference to the Ray Bradbury short story «Skeleton».

Boom Potatoes[edit]

A term used by the Spuckler family in «Rednecks and Broomsticks» to refer to hand grenades which Brandine had brought back from Iraq.

Boostafazoo[edit]

Physical punishment or comeuppance.

Bart: Burns needs some serious boostafazoo, right Dad?

Boo-urns[edit]

What Smithers tells Burns the angry movie audience is saying after a screening of his film «A Burns for All Seasons».

During the episode «A Star Is Burns», Mr. Burns asks his faithful assistant Waylon Smithers, Jr. if the crowd is booing his blatantly egotistical motion picture. Smithers, ever the yes-man, replies that they are saying «boo-urns» (i.e. «Burns»), and not «boo». When Burns asks for clarification, the crowd replies that they are indeed saying «boo», and not «boo-urns». After the crowd replies, Hans Moleman says that, in fact, he was saying «boo-urns».

Hans Moleman: I was saying «boo-urns…»

Recently, the expression Boo-Urns has been used by Australian Soccer fans, in particular, the supporters of Adelaide United FC when ‘Boo-ing’ an opposition player.

Bovine University[edit]

A euphemism for a meat-packing plant. The term was used by Troy McClure in the vintage pro-meat/pro-slaughter film Meat and You: Partners in Freedom, which was shown to Lisa’s class during the episode «Lisa the Vegetarian».

Troy McClure: When the cattle are just right, it’s time for them to «graduate» from Bovine University.

«Graduating» is an obvious reference to the cattle being slaughtered and processed. Ralph Wiggum, however, not only completely swallowed the film’s propaganda slant but also missed the meaning of the term and said that he was going to go to Bovine University when he grew up.

Brain medicine[edit]

A fictitious medicine mentioned by Homer in an attempt to get Bart and Lisa to open the car’s glove compartment.

Homer asks Bart to «open the glove compartment and fetch him his brain medicine» in the episode «Homerpalooza». The brain medicine turns out to be tickets to Hullabalooza.

The term «brain medicine» was also used in «Lisa’s Wedding» by an insane relative of Lisa’s fiancée:

Lisa: I love that painting. Judging by the clothes, I’d say… seventeenth century?

Mrs. Parkfield: Actually, Lisa, it’s just Uncle Eldred.

Eldred: [fishing in an empty fishbowl] I get me brain medicine from the National ‘Ealth!

Brassafrax[edit]

Presumably an extremely antiquated cry of submission (as in «Uncle!») used by Charles Montgomery Burns’s mother in the episode «Homer the Smithers». When Smithers wants to regain Burns’s trust, he tells Homer to call Burns’s mother and transfer the call to his office. Smithers’s plan is to rush in and rescue Burns from what will certainly be an awkward phone conversation.

Smithers: Hello, Mrs. Burns? This is Waylon Smithers, Jr.. I have your son Montgomery on the line…

Mrs. Burns: That improvident lackwit? Always too busy stridin’ about his atom mill to call his own mother. I’ll give him what-fors till he cries brassafrax!

Bumbled-bee[edit]

One of Mr. Burns’ seemingly antiquated alternative expressions referring to an existing term (similar to «iced cream», the original name for ice cream). In «Goo Goo Gai Pan», Burns takes a driving test and tells Selma, who is in the process of lowering the soft top on his roadster, «Stop that, you want-wit! I could get stung by a bumbled-bee!»

C[edit]

Cah-ta-hay Cheese[edit]

Bart’s mispronunciation of «cottage cheese» in «The Heartbroke Kid». Bart was unaware of many healthy foods such as this when he was forced to live a less unhealthy lifestyle, and he consequently had no idea how to pronounce the food.

California Cheeseburger[edit]

A sandwich with a baby in the middle, first seen in «The Secret War of Lisa Simpson».

Chief Wiggum shows a group of touring kids a museum display of a hippie couple who are getting stoned and ready to take a bite of the «California Cheeseburger.»

Capdabbler[edit]

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s «The Grinch»:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flungers, capdabblers and mendlers!»

Car Hole[edit]

A common man’s term for garage, coined by Moe Szyslak in «The Springfield Connection».

While «Car Hole» appears only twice in the series itself, it is often used by fans to jokingly refer to a garage, or garage-like structure. The phrase first appears in a conversation between Moe Szyslak and Homer Simpson, wherein Moe ridicules Homer for his use of the overly formal word, «garage».

Homer: Hmm. I wonder why he’s so eager to go to the garage?

Moe: The «garage»? Hey fellas, the «garage»! Well, ooh la di da, Mr. French Man.

Homer: Well what do you call it?

Moe: A car hole!

The phrase appears once more, as Homer Simpson expresses his shock, upon discovering a counterfeit jeans outfit has (inexplicably) taken up operation in his garage.

Homer: [gasps] A counterfeit jeans ring operating out of my car hole!

Chazwazers[edit]

A fictitious Australian name for the bullfrog.

As the Simpsons depart from Australia, an Australian equivalent of the Squeaky-voiced teen asks what the strange creature infesting his home country is called. Upon receiving its proper name, he responds, «What? That’s an odd name. I’d have called them chazwazers.»

Cheese-eating surrender monkeys[edit]

A satirical and insulting phrase, referring to the collaborationist Vichy France regime’s surrender in World War II.

Groundskeeper Willie (teaching French class): ‘bonjourrrrrr, you cheese-eating surrender monkeys!»

Chestal[edit]

Of, or relating to, the chest.

Bart: I’m all tense through the chestal area!

The word «chestal,» in this sense, first became popular in the 1960s when Woody Allen used it in one of his stand-up comedy routines. It then appeared in the episode «Bart’s Girlfriend»

Also used: «neckal» and «scalpal».

Chester A. Arthritis[edit]

A condition resulting from excitement over studying President Chester A. Arthur. Lisa jokes about having just gotten over her «Chester A. Arthritis» before coming down with «Jebeditis».

Professor Hollis: «Looks like you’ve come down with a serious case of Jebeditis.»

Lisa: «Just as I was getting over my Chester A. Arthritis.»

Professor Hollis: «Heh heh… y-you had arthritis?»

Chimpan-A[edit]

An ape. In a musical based on Planet of the Apes, Troy McClure’s character claimed that he hated all apes from «chimpan-A to chimpanzee», as a pun on chimpanzee and the phrase «A to Z».

Chinese sky candy[edit]

Another word for fireworks in the episode «Trilogy of Error».

Officer Lou: «There’s enough Chinese sky candy here to put you boys away for a long time.»

Chocotastic[edit]

One of the three neglected food groups, along with the Whipped group and the Congealed group, that Homer must concentrate on eating more of in «King-Size Homer».

This word has made its way into international culture, as there are Pop Tarts available in The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe with the flavor of Chocotastic. (Coincidentally, in the episode, Riviera recommends that Homer use Pop Tarts to replace bread in sandwiches.)

Clouseauesque[edit]

A combination of excessive clumsiness and ridiculously bad luck, in the manner of Peter Sellers’ hapless Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
From the episode «The Boy Who Knew Too Much».

The French waiter, who accused Freddy Quimby of attacking him, says in the court room, «This is an outrage! I am not a clumsy clouseauesque waiter!» He then falls out of the window into an open truck of rat traps.

Commie-Nazis[edit]

Fictional villains Rainier Wolfcastle faces in one of his McBain movies.

While delivering UNICEF pennies to «the puny children who need them», the McBain’s airplane is attacked. He picks up the radio and says, «McBain to base, under attack by Commie-Nazis.» These «Commie-Nazis» combine Communism and Nazi ideology, and use a mix of the Swastika and Hammer and Sickle on a red background as their standard.

This phrase has long precedent in the form of «Commu-Nazi» as used by Walter Winchell. However, many viewers believe that this is simply a combination of two over-used action movie villains.

It may also be a reference to the Superman comics during World War II pitting the superhero against the «Japanazis», a cross between America’s two principal enemies in the war.

Crackle-berries[edit]

Mr. Burns’s name for peanuts in «The Regina Monologues».

Mr. Burns: «Look, Smithers. Crackle-berries!»

Crantastic[edit]

A reference to an Ocean Spray advertising device, a portmanteau of cranberry and fantastic. Said by the squeaky-voiced teen as he is swept away by a tide of cranberry juice in «Homer and Apu».

Crap factory[edit]

Invented by Bart as a dysphemism for «stomach» after Nelson takes exception to his saying «tummy.»

Bart: «Its my tummy!» (Nelson glares at him) «I mean stomach! Gut! Crap factory!»

Craptacular[edit]

A portmanteau of «crap» and «spectacular.»

Craptacular was used by Bart to describe the supposedly defective Christmas lights that Homer purchased in «Miracle on Evergreen Terrace». It is one of the more frequently used made-up words from The Simpsons, and, like a few others, was in use before The Simpsons popularized it. Currently a yearly contest on Howard Stern show, where contestants eat and eat then weigh their waste over 24 hours.

Craptured[edit]

Homer’s word for crap that has been raptured. He used it when he found Bart’s room empty. Used in «A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again».

Homer: Bart’s been raptured! And his crap’s been craptured!

Crayola Oblongata[edit]

The procedure of putting a crayon into the brain via the nasal cavity, a port-manteau of crayon producing company Crayola and the part of the brainstem called the medulla oblongata.

Crisitunity[edit]

A portmanteau created by Homer when Lisa tells him that the Chinese have the same word for «crisis» and «opportunity». The actual Chinese words for those terms are different but share a common character (危機 for «crisis», 機會 for «opportunity»).

From «Fear of Flying».

Cromulent[edit]

A word meaning valid or acceptable, coined by David X. Cohen for the Simpsons episode «Lisa the Iconoclast».

When schoolteacher Edna Krabappel hears the Springfield town motto «A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man,» she comments she’d never heard of the word embiggens before moving to Springfield. Miss Hoover replies, «I don’t know why; it’s a perfectly cromulent word».

Later in the same episode, while talking about Homer’s audition for the role of town crier, Principal Skinner states «He’s embiggened that role with his cromulent performance.»

Based on the context in which Miss Hoover uses the word cromulent, we can interpret that she intends it to mean «legitimate», «applicable» or «appropriate.» Principal Skinner seems to use it to mean «more than acceptable» or «more than adequate»; these usages would also (in an assumed lexical context) satisfy Miss Hoover’s use of the word. Perhaps both characters intend it to mean «authentic», which would validate both uses of the word (e.g. «it’s a perfectly authentic word» and «he embiggened that role with his authentic performance»). Lisa uses it later in that episode, when instead of telling the truth about Jebediah Springfield, she accepts that the myth and the made-up words have inspirational value. The word has a sort of recursive irony about it: as a made-up word it possesses none of the qualities that it describes.

Both «embiggen» and «cromulent» were quickly adopted and used by Simpsons fans. Cromulent has taken on an ironic meaning, to say that something is not at all legitimate and in fact spurious. Indeed the DVD commentary for «Lisa the Iconoclast» makes a point of reinforcing that «embiggen» and «cromulent» are completely made up by the writers and have since taken on a life of their own via the Internet and other media.

In the 2005 Xbox game Jade Empire, the player meets a British-colonialist-styled outsider who uses made-up mispronounced words. When the player confronts the man with this, the man claims that one of the words he used was «cromulent».

Crotch dot[edit]

A red dot that appears on one’s crotch, and is thought to be fatal (Chief Wiggum’s uncle died of Crotch Dot). Seymour Skinner was suspected of having this disease, although in reality, it was a laser pointer used as a prank by Bart. From «The Dad Who Knew Too Little». Compare to «crotch rot», a slang term for jock itch.

Chief Wiggum: «Hey you better get that red dot checked out, my uncle died of crotch dot!»

D[edit]

Dash Hole[edit]

Another name for the cigarette lighter power socket.

This name was used by the automotive appliance salesman when asking Homer what he had plugged into his Dash Hole. From «Brake My Wife, Please».

Debigulator[edit]

A device for shrinking a person to microscopic size.

A Professor Frink-like character uses the debigulator to shrink Lisa to microscopic size in The Genesis Tub, one of the stories in Treehouse of Horror VII.

Deceleratrix[edit]

The service brakes on a car.

Mr. Burns attempts to drive a car for the first time while proclaiming he is sure the owners’ manual will instruct him as to which lever is the velocitator and which one is the deceleratrix. The word is formed by changing the word «decelerator» from the Latin masculine to feminine. From «Homer the Smithers»

Dickety[edit]

Grampa’s made-up word for twenty in the episode «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish»».

Abe: Now, my story begins in nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say «dickety» ’cause the Kaiser had stolen our word «twenty». I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles…

The word may have a faux «old timer» feel because of its similarity to the words «dicker» and lickety as in «lickety split.» Dicker is a word for bargain that’s sometimes associated with rural or antiquated settings.

In the Latin American version the word used is «tijiri», which has no actual meaning or similarity to another word.

The German version is «zwickig», which also has no meaning, but sounds similar to «zwanzig» («twenty»).

The term pokes fun at the common habit of replacing words during the anti-German sentiment of World War I, such as the replacing of Sauerkraut with «Liberty Cabbage» (according to Grampa, Liberty Cabbage was, in turn, known as «Super Slaw»).

Diddly[edit]

(Also spelled diddily), Ned Flanders’ characteristic non-word.

Generally speaking, «diddly«, though not in itself a made-up word, is used by Ned Flanders in what linguists call a filled pause, a non-word which a speaker uses to take up time or space in a sentence, and which are sometimes used for emphasis. Flanders often uses «diddly» as an alliteration in his sentences, i.e. «What can I diddly-do you for?» or «Dee-diddly-lighted!» Flanders also seems to use filled pauses as a crutch to avoid swearing, as in «son of a diddly…», until he finally snaps in «Hurricane Neddy» when the inept townspeople of Springfield, in a disastrous attempt to rebuild his house, push him too far: «Calm down, Neddilly-diddily-diddily-diddily… They did their best… Shoddilly-iddily-iddily-diddly… Gotta be nice… hostility-ilitybilitydility aaaw hell diddly ding dong crap! Can’t you morons do anything right?!»

Occasionally, Flanders will use «diddly» as a tmesis such as in the episode «Summer of 4 Ft. 2» in his note at the summer house to the Simpsons («Wel-diddly-elcome», to which Homer responds «He actually wrote «diddly»).

It was also used as a familial word when the ‘Flanders Clan’ has a reunion, Jose Flanders says when meeting Homer, «Buenos ding-dong-diddly días, señor» (although Lord Thistlewick Flanders has to be prompted to say it, and does so reluctantly).

In the Latin American version, «diddly» is often translated as «-irijillo», an overly elaborate and ridiculous diminutive (e.g. «Perfectirijillo»).

Disease Box[edit]

A term for a box in which a contagious person sat and to which other people would come in order to try to contract the disease.

In «Milhouse of Sand and Fog», Maggie caught the chicken pox and Homer put her in a box so that the neighborhood kids could catch it before they grew up.

He noted that «As with all disease boxes, results may vary.»

Doctorb[edit]

Homer, in need of a triple bypass, sees an infomercial showcasing the surgical «talents» of Dr. Nick. In the ad, Dr. Nick gives the (presumably) toll-free number as, «1-600-DOCTORB», going on to explain that «…The B is for ‘bargain’!» It is pronounced / ˈdɔkˌtoːɻb/

Dodgerock[edit]

A game of dodgeball played with a rock instead of a ball. At least one (brief) match was played by Nelson Muntz and Milhouse.

Dollareydoo[edit]

A term to describe Australian Dollars. In Bart vs. Australia, when the father of the Australian boy, whom Bart had called collect, saw the bill for 900 dollars, he exclaimed «900 Dollareydoos?!» and asked his son if he had accepted the call from America. When the Australian boy replies that he’d only accepted the charges because he thought it was urgent, the father confronts Bart over the phone, only to learn his son had fallen victim to a prank.

It is likely that the term «Dollareydoo» is a reference to the aboriginal instrument from Australia, the Didgeridoo or didgeridu.

Don’ter[edit]

The opposite of a doer. Appeared in «Lisa the Tree Hugger».

Bart: Hey, some people in this family are doers, and some [he looks at Lisa] are don’ters.

D’oh![edit]

An exclamation of annoyance often uttered by Homer.

In scripts and episode titles, D’oh is referred to as «annoyed grunt«¹.

It may be argued that «D’oh» is not a Simpsons neologism, as actor Dan Castellaneta based the phrase on James Finlayson’s similar utterance in many Laurel & Hardy films; however, Finlayson did not exclaim the term as Castellaneta does, but used it as more of a muttered whine.

Don’t have a cow, man![edit]

An exclamation and catchphrase of Bart that implies that the subject should calm down, or not get worked up about something. It was brought into pop culture mainly by merchandise, as is evidenced by the fact that it is only uttered by Bart on the show a handful of times in the first season («There’s No Disgrace Like Home» and «The Call of the Simpsons»), and therefore were not self-parodying uses.

In the third season’s «Bart the Murderer», Eat My Shorts and Don’t Have a Cow are horses in a race. It isn’t used again by Bart until the eighth season. In «The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show», in response to Homer’s cartoon debut, Lisa explains, «you can’t be cool just by spouting off a bunch of worn-out buzzwords.» Bart replies, «don’t have a cow, Lis!» In «The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase», Bart sings it along with «eat my shorts!» as part of his musical introduction in the variety show spin-off.

Occasionally, another character has uttered the line. In another self-parodying use, Apu, a vegetarian, shows off his t-shirt with the saying surrounding an actual cow in a no symbol in the seventh season’s «Lisa the Vegetarian». In the seventh season’s «Summer of 4 Ft. 2», After Bart’s complaining that Lisa is acting like him to get friends, Lisa is overheard to say «Don’t have a cow, man!» (and later «¡Ay, caramba!») to which Marge replies, «you haven’t said that in four years. Let Lisa have it.»

In the 19th season’s «Apocalypse Cow», after raising a young bull to adulthood and saving it from the slaughterhouse, Bart comments that he can finally say he «had a cow».

Doobob[edit]

Mr. Burns’s word for a generic object that is mysterious to him.

Doodily[edit]

(Also spelled doodly), A Flanders word that is compatible with diddly.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily! Flanders is afraid to say the word «sex» even if kids aren’t around. Instead, he calls it «doodily«.

Dorkulate[edit]

To become dorky. See Re-Dorkulated.

Dorkus Molorkus[edit]

Used by Bart, Dorkus molorkus is supposedly a Latin phrase meaning dork. Given as the reason Lisa was unaware of the National Grammar Rodeo.

Bart: You are, as they say in Latin, a Dorkus Molorkus.

Lisa: That’s not Latin…

Double-Bacon Geniusburger[edit]

A very intelligent person, used as an alternate lyric in Homer’s version of the Grinch song.

«You’re a Hero, Homer J. You’re as crafty as a skunk! They’ll thank you in the morning, for stealing Flanders’ junk, Homer JAAAY! You’re a double-bacon geniusburger, and just a little drunk!» From the episode «‘Tis the Fifteenth Season».

Drunkening[edit]

The process of becoming drunk, a gerund form of the pseudo-verb «To Drunken».

Moe tells Homer he’s late for his drunkening. From «Brake My Wife, Please».

Dumbening[edit]

The process of becoming dumber.

In the episode «Lisa the Simpson», Lisa is writing in her diary after speaking to Grampa about «the Simpson Gene», which supposedly makes every male in the Simpson family stupid.

Lisa: [writing] Dear log, can it be true? Does every Simpson go through a process of dumbening? Hey, that’s not how you spell ‘dumbening’. Wait a minute… ‘dumbening’ isn’t even a word!

Dumpster Buns[edit]

Cinnamon buns thrown out into a dumpster.

In the episode «Thank God It’s Doomsday», Homer wants to go to the mall to eat the day old throw aways from Cinnabon. While at the mall, Bart and Lisa run into their father eating out of the dumpster.

Homer: Mmm… dumpster buns.

Dungeonarium[edit]

Mr. Burns’s word for a dungeon.

E[edit]

Eat my Shirt / Eat our Shirts[edit]

What Flanders thinks Bart says when he says Eat my Shorts.

Bart: Eat my shorts, Shelbyville.

Bart and Homer: Eat my shorts!

Flanders: Yes, eat all of our shirts.

Eat my Shorts[edit]

Main article: Eat My Shorts!

Bart’s favourite insult.

Bart: Eat my shorts, Shelbyville.

Bart and Homer: Eat my shorts!

Eddie Punch-clock[edit]

A dismissive phrase describing the common man used by Mr. Burns.

Eedily[edit]

A variant of doodily used by Flanders when he’s nervous or screwing up his words.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily!

El Fisa-chiatrist[edit]

In Havana Wild Weekend, Homer is eager to «put the Spanish [he] learned on I Love Lucy to use». He starts to improvise with «Lucy, you need to see el fisa-chiatrist», to which a Cuban guy responds, «Excuse me sir, we’re perfectly able to pronounce ‘psychiatrist’.»

Electromicide[edit]

According to Dr. Nick Riviera, the only treatment for Bonus Eruptus.

Dr. Nick’s procedure is trans-dental electromicide, a process of introducing severe electrical currents into the body through the mouth. The word electromicide is possibly a conflation of the prefix electro- with homicide.

Embiggen[edit]

To make something better. The opposite of belittle.

From a famous saying by Jebediah Springfield/Hans Sprungfeld: «A Noble Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man», evoking the manner in which its antonym, belittle, was coined by Thomas Jefferson. It is likely a creative conflation of big with the word embolden (to render bold; to hearten, to encourage). The quotation appears on the statue of Jebediah Springfield in front of City Hall.

The word was coined by Dan Greaney American actor and writer Wil Wheaton frequently uses this word in his blog when he posts thumbnailed images. It has also been used in String theory^[2]

Examples of use:

• «He’s embiggened that role.»
• «Patriots will embiggen America.»

Esquilax[edit]

A legendary horse born with the head of a rabbit and the body of a rabbit.

Examples of use:

• «Oh look! The esquilax is galloping away!»

F[edit]

Fantastipotamus[edit]

An animal located in a «different» zoo that contains creatures that people like Homer have never heard of.

Ron Howard: Look, I’d love to help you out, Homer, but I’m taking my kids to the zoo.

Homer: That’s great. Even big stars take their kids to the zoo.

Ron Howard: Well, it’s a different zoo, containing animals you’ve never heard of.

Howard’s daughter: Daddy, we’re missing the fantastipotamus. She only sings twice a day.

A conflation of the words «fantastic» and «hippopotamus».

Farkbot[edit]

As in, «What the farkbot?» Said by a frustrated Bart Simpson during the opening scroll of Cosmic Wars.

Most likely one of the writers is a member of Fark.com. Commonly, submitters to the site replace choice words including certain expletives, with Fark. As in «What the Fark?».

Fartsy[edit]

Homer’s word for the less-than-intellectual subject of chili, as opposed to the «artsy» interests of Marge. Homer considers «fartsy» subjects more appealing. This word is heard in «El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer».

Fatard[edit]

The ballet teacher’s name for Bart’s ballet outfit.

Conflation of the words «fat» and «leotard».

Faxtrola[edit]

What Burns calls a fax machine in «Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in «The Curse of the Flying Hellfish»».

A conflation of the words «fax» and «victrola».

Femailman[edit]

A word for a woman in the mail delivery business, used by Bart in «Homer’s Night Out». Lisa corrects him, instead urging him to say femailperson.

Femailperson[edit]

According to Lisa in «Homer’s Night Out», this is the appropriate word for a woman who works as a mail carrier.

Finded[edit]

An incorrect past tense of «find», as opposed to the correct «found». Used by Ralph Wiggum in «This Little Wiggy».

Firehose sweating[edit]

A condition characterised by excessive perspiration that spurted out in the manner of a firehose. It was one of the side effects of the anti-booze in «The Last Barfighter».

Fishbulb[edit]

Refers to the Mr. Sparkle logo, which was a combination of a fish logo and a lightbulb logo. This led to an appearance uncannily like Homer Simpson’s head. This has led Homer to be nicknamed «Fishbulb» by Bart.

Fishmas[edit]

Part of «Merry Fishmas!», shouted by Mr. Burns in «Homer vs. Dignity».

Flander-doodles[edit]

A term coined by Ned Flanders to refer to his testicles, coming from his habit of saying «doodle» and his last name (minus the S).

When a robot punched him in the crotch in «Treehouse of Horror XVI», Ned said, «Ow, my Flander-doodles!»

Flandwich[edit]

After Homer told Ned Flanders that his Amish cousin Jacob is «holier than thou». Ned and Jacob hugged him like a sandwich which made Ned love Homer even more. It is a combination of the words «Flanders» and «sandwich».

Homer: Oh, God, I’m stuck in a Flandwich.

Flanswered[edit]

The state of Ned Flanders being the answer to a question or proposition.

Homer: Single women of Springfield, your prayers have been Flanswered. Ned Flanswered that is.

Is also played as word during Flanders lonely Scrabble game.
From «Alone Again, Natura-Diddily».

Floor Pie[edit]

A pie that is on the floor.

In the episode «Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood», Homer is lured into a trap set up by Bart in which the bait is a pie on the floor («Ooooh, floor pie!»). This saying has been adapted by some for various objects (e.g. «floor candy» or «floor clothes»). Floor [word] is used for an object which is on the floor when it probably shouldn’t be.

Swedish-American sculptor Claes Oldenburg also created a large sculpture of a piece of Cake to be displayed on the floor of a gallery entitled Floor Cake.

Flunjer[edit]

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s «The Grinch»:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!»

Food Jobber[edit]

Mr. Burns’ name for a grocery store in «The Old Man and the Lisa».

Mr. Burns: I will go out and get these items from the food jobber.

Foodbag[edit]

A derogatory term in «Burns, Baby Burns» used by Mr. Burns to describe Homer. It is used while they are eating a lavish dinner together, thus it is likely referring to the amount of food Homer was eating at the time and/or his weight in general.

Burns: You, foodbag, do you have a son?

Foodrinkery[edit]

As seen on the sign for «TGI McScratchy’s Goodtime Foodrinkery» in the episode «Itchy & Scratchy Land»

Forfty[edit]

A portmanteau of the words «Forty» and «Fifty». Possibly slang for forty-five.

In the episode «Homer the Vigilante», Homer mentions the word as he responds to Kent Brockman about statistics.

Kent Brockman: Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent?

Homer Simpson: Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.

Oddly enough, the captions read «forty» or «fourteen».

Foundling-a-ding[edit]

Flanders’ euphemistic word for a foundling, or abandoned child («Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily»).

Frinkahedron[edit]

Professor Frink’s name for a cube (a.k.a. hexahedron).

In the Halloween episode «Treehouse of Horror VI», Professor Frink tries to explain Homer’s disappearance into the third dimension. A possible real-life analogue to the Frinkahedron is the tesseract.

Frink: (at chalkboard) Here is an ordinary square.

Chief Wiggum: Whoa, whoa, slow down, egghead!

Frink: But, suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe, along the hypothetical Z-axis there.

Marge, Lisa, Bart, Ned, Reverend Lovejoy, Chief Wiggums, Dr. Hibbert, Patty & Selma: [gasps] (as Frink draws a cube)

Frink: This forms a three-dimensional object known as a cube or a Frinkahedron, in honor of its discoverer.

Homer: Help me! Are you helping me, or are you going on and on?

Frink: Oh, right. And, of course, within, we find the doomed individual.

Frinkiac 7[edit]

The name for a computer created by Professor Frink in «Much Apu About Nothing».

Frogurt[edit]

A phrase for frozen yogurt used by a shopkeeper in «Treehouse of Horror III». Attestation of the word pre-dates The Simpsons.

Fuchsiatard[edit]

The ballet teacher’s name for Bart’s ballet outfit.

Conflation of the words «fuchsia» and «leotard».

Fudrucker[edit]

A swear used by Marge during «The President Wore Pearls». When the police show up shortly after she says it, she thinks that they have come to arrest her for saying it. It may be a reference to the Fuddruckers chain of restaurants or alternatively a semi-concealed curse.

Führerific[edit]

A conflation of «führer» and «terrific».

This is how Bart describes what is claimed to be Hitler’s car in the episode «Bart Carny».

Bart: It’s Führerific.

G[edit]

Gamblor[edit]

The name Homer gives to the monstrous gambling vice that has metaphorically «enslaved» Marge in «$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)». The creature is purported to have neon claws.

Garbagewater[edit]

Homer spills some detritus-laced liquid from the bottom of the garbage can on his slipper while taking out the trash and coins this word, as in, «eww! Garbagewater!»

Gibby Gabby[edit]

Marge’s name for the Albanian language, as uttered upon hearing the dialogue from the movie Kosovo Autumn. From the episode «Home Away from Homer».

Glaven[edit]

A word used by Professor Frink when he’s muttering. In one episode while he’s shocked he says, «Great glaven in a glass!» or «Good glaven!» It is most often heard when Frink is in pain like «Oh, so much pain in the glaven!» (pronounced / ˈglejvn̩/) This is probably an adaptation of Jerry Lewis’s interjection «froyndleyven!», which, in turn, is presumed to be Yiddish semi-nonsense roughly meaning «happytime!» (cf. standard German «Freund», friend; «Freude», joy; «Leben», life). The similarity to Slavic words for ‘head’ (golova, glava, glowa) does not account for the vowels or ‘n’ and is probably coincidental. Lewis’s portrayal of the Nutty Professor is considered by many Simpsons fans to be partial inspiration for Frink’s character, and Lewis did a guest voice in one episode as Frink’s father.

Frink: That meteor is headed straight for us, with the fire, and the impact, and the hundred percent chance of pain!… Pain in the glaven!!

Alternate spelling: glavin or glayvin.

Groin-Grabbingly[edit]

A phrase used by Homer in the episode «Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?».

Lisa: Hmm. What’s the English equivalent for [drools like Homer]? I’d say… transcendent.

Homer: How about groin-grabbingly transcendent?

Lisa: Uh… I don’t think so.

Homer: We make a good team. A groin-grabbingly good team.

Gyme[edit]

Homer’s mispronunciation of the word «gym» in «King of the Hill». Due to his lack of acquaintanceship with exercise culture, he was not aware of the proper pronunciation of the word.

H[edit]

Heckhole[edit]

A euphemism for the term «hellhole», which comes from «heck», which is a euphemism for all meanings of «hell» except the place.

In «Cape Feare», Sideshow Bob refers to prison as a «dank, urine-soaked hellhole». The police replied, «We object to the term ‘urine-soaked hellhole’ when you could have said, ‘peepee-soaked heckhole.'»

Hey-dilly-ho[edit]

Ned Flanders’ favourite greeting.

Hi, everybody![edit]

Dr. Nick’s characteristic greeting, adopted as a casual hello by fans.

Holy Flurking Schnit[edit]

A vulgar exclamation used by Kang.

Homer Tax[edit]

Homer’s phrase for a tax which he pays. Lisa corrects him by telling him he’s thinking of the homeowner tax.

Homer: Let the bears pay the bear tax, I pay the Homer Tax!

Homerhol[edit]

While in rehab for drunk driving(framed by Homer), Marge realizes she doesn’t belong there, and exclaims «I’m a Homer-holic». Otto interjects, «Whoa man you’re drinkin homerhol? I’ll take a swig!!!

Homersexual[edit]

During a routine disciplinary visit to Principal Skinner’s office, Bart must call Moe’s Tavern looking for his father, Homer. But when Moe answers the phone, Bart preempts the original purpose of the call and substitutes one of his trademark prank-calls. Instead of asking for his father «Homer Simpson,» Bart asks for «Homer Sexual.» With the prank thus launched, Bart quickly hands the phone to the Principal, who is shocked and dismayed to hear Moe Szyslak’s resulting tirade.

Later, when Homer marks Skinner as a possible mate for Selma, an imaginary heads-up display seen from Homer’s point of view (a spoof of The Terminator movies) identifies Skinner as a possible «homer-sexual.»

Though not exactly the same, Homer proclaims it is time to «get Homererotic» when he is having himself photographed in suggestive poses for a gift portfolio for Marge.

More recently the term «homersexual» has been used as a parody antonym for the expression metrosexual (which means a heterosexual with stereotypical gay habits); in this context, «homersexual» refers to a gay person with stereotypical straight habits.

Hoyvin-Mayvin[edit]

A secret project by the Motherloving Sugar Corporation to get the town of Springfield addicted to sugar in the episode «Sweets and Sour Marge». The project was named after the vocal ramblings of its creator, Professor Frink. The Professor was also the project’s whistleblower.

Hurricane Vomiting[edit]

Supposedly a synonym for projectile vomiting. It was one of the effects of the «anti-booze» in «The Last Barfighter».

Hurty[edit]

A synonym for «painful» used by Ralph Wiggum in a few episodes, including «Skinner’s Sense of Snow».

Hypohemia[edit]

Mr. Burns’s rare blood disease, for which he needed a transfusion of Bart’s blood in the episode «Blood Feud». The word stems from a combination of hypo (Greek prefix for «under» or «below») and hemia (Greek for «blood»). The proper term for lack of circulatory fluids, however, is hypovolemia.

I[edit]

Iddly[edit]

Sometimes spelled «iddily», this is another one of Ned Flanders’s words, similar to «diddly» and «doodly», though not used as often.

In «Hurricane Neddy», Ned uses the phrase «Shoddily-iddily-iddily-diddly.»

In «In the Name of the Grandfather», Ned murmured, «Iddly diddly» to himself over and over again while in the hot tub.

Immigant[edit]

Moe Szyslak’s mispronunciation of the word «immigrant». He used the word when complaining about immigrants’ poor understanding of English in «Much Apu About Nothing», ironically proving his English to be unrefined itself.

Introubulate[edit]

The act of getting someone into trouble. From «I’m with Cupid» where Kent Brockman reads a story about how Apu is giving his wife extravagant presents for Valentine’s Day, and the rest of the town’s wives are annoyed at their husbands for their comparative romantic lameness.

Brockman: One Springfield man is treating his wife to an extra-special Valentine’s Day this year, and introubulating the rest of us.

Perhaps related to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s neologism enturbulate, meaning to bring into turbulent or troublesome conditions.

Italian-American Sauce Bread[edit]

A phrase used to refer to pizza after the original word was somehow construed as politically incorrect. Seymour Skinner changed the item on Springfield Elementary School’s menu to this name in «I Am Furious (Yellow)», pleasing Luigi Risotto.

J[edit]

Jebeditis[edit]

A condition resulting from excitement over Jebediah Springfield. When Hollis Hurlbut, curator of the Springfield Historical Society, returns to Lisa with Johnny Cakes, she is acting strangely having just found «The Secret Confessions of Jebediah Springfield» hidden in Springfield’s fife. Lisa attempts to disguise her behavior as «just the excitement of studying Jebediah,» which Hurlbut characterizes jokingly as «Jebeditis.»

Professor Hollis: «Looks like you’ve come down with a serious case of Jebeditis.»
Lisa: «Just as I was getting over my Chester A. Arthritis.»
Professor Hollis: «Heh heh… y-you had arthritis?»

Jebus[edit]

According to Matt Groening, The Simpsons writers have an ongoing competition to write a line that «most represents Homer at his singularly most stupid». Most likely the current champion is Homer’s faux term for Jesus, first mentioned in the episode «Missionary: Impossible.» When asked to be a missionary, Homer replies, «I’m no missionary, I don’t even believe in Jebus!». When the plane that is carrying Homer is taking off, he cries, «Save me Jebus!»

The Old Testament of the Bible mentions a people called the Jebusites, residing in Jebus, which was renamed Jerusalem after being conquered by the Israelites.

In popular usage on many discussion boards, such as Fark.com and Guardian Unlimited Talk, it is often deliberately used by posters as an implied «cut» or «chop» against Christians, particularly fundamentalist Christians from the Southern United States. Sometimes spelled «Jeebus» in this context.

Jebus has often been the Papua New Guinean patois for Jesus.

Jiminy Jillikers[edit]

A phrase used by Radioactive Man’s sidekick Fallout Boy, this phrase featured largely in the portion of the Radioactive Man film that was shot in Springfield. According to Radioactive Man, it is a form of profanity.

Johnny Come-not-lies[edit]

A phrase used by Principal Skinner, when the teachers didn’t show up for the last day before Christmas break.

Johnny Lunchpail[edit]

A dismissive phrase describing the common man used by Mr. Burns in «Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish».

Juice Loosener[edit]

A type of juicer that Troy McClure advertised in «Marge in Chains» that was popular, despite its seemingly inefficient juicing abilities.

These were manufactured in Osaka, Japan, and a factory worker coughed into several boxes containing juice looseners that were then shipped to Springfield, starting the Osaka Flu epidemic.

Among the people who bought the looseners were Homer, Principal Skinner (to give to Agnes) and Patty and Selma (to give to each other for their birthday).

Jumping Box[edit]

Used by Mr. Burns when describing a television.

Mr. Burns: Television, jumping box, picto-cube, just crank it up!

Juzz[edit]

Bart’s mispronunciation of the word «jazz.» From the episode «Jazzy and the Pussycats».

Bart: «I need you to teach me all about the world of juzz.»

Lisa: «It’s jazz! Jazz! You don’t even know the name of the thing you’re stealing from me!»

K[edit]

Killbot Factory[edit]

Kent Brockman’s openly-declared «more alarmist» name for the United States Army, an institution Brockman shockingly describes as a place where «hundreds of men are given weapons and trained to kill!» The term «killbot» has gone on to be widely used in Futurama.

Klassic[edit]

A deliberately-misspelled version of the word «classic» seen in Krusty Komedy Klassic. It was misspelled to alliterate with Krusty’s name, but the audience booed and threw things at him because the initials were KKK (which is also the name of a white supremacist group). Krusty himself noticed the troublesome initials seconds before getting booed and noted to himself, «KKK? That’s no good!».

Knifey-Spooney[edit]

A fictional Australian barroom game seen in the episode «Bart vs. Australia». The game appears to consist of one person claiming that a spoon is actually a knife while his opponent attempts to contradict him as convincingly as possible. In a parody of a scene from the movie Crocodile Dundee, Bart is playing with a pocketknife when he is confronted by an Australian local who says, «You call that a knife?» The Aussie then shows Bart a spoon and says, «This is a knife!» Bart matter-of-factly counters by saying, «That’s not a knife. That’s a spoon.» The Aussie then backs down, puts the spoon away and says, «All right, all right, you win. I see you’ve played Knifey-Spooney before.»

Knifey Wifey[edit]

A name used by Chief Wiggum for any woman who is known to have attacked her husband with a knife.

Wiggum: Here we are, 123 Fake Street. Home of knifey wifey.

Knowitallism[edit]

Knowitallism (also Know-it-all-ism) is a fictitious word made up by the faculty of Springfield Elementary School to describe Lisa Simpson’s precocious personality. The students break into the school’s vault and find their permanent records and when Lisa reads that her teachers have labelled her as suffering from «knowitallism», she exclaims, «That’s not even a word!»

Knowledgeum[edit]

The Springfield Knowledgeum, a science museum «Where science is explained with brightly-colored balls», was visited by the Simpsons in episode «This Little Wiggy» .

Komedy[edit]

A deliberately-misspelled version of the word «comedy» seen in Krusty Komedy Klassic. It, like «Klassic», was misspelled to alliterate with Krusty’s name, but the audience booed and threw things at him because the initials were KKK (which is also the name of a white supremacist group). Krusty himself noticed the troublesome initials seconds before getting booed and noted to himself, «KKK? That’s no good!».

Krisis[edit]

A word used by Kent Brockman to assist in alliteratively describing the crisis that occurred at Kamp Krusty when it descended into a state of anarchy after a general revolt by abused campers.

Kwyjibo[edit]

Kwyjibo / ˈkwɪdʒiˌbo/ is a word made up by Bart during a game of Scrabble with his family. In the episode «Bart the Genius», Bart puts «kwyjibo» on the board, scoring 116 points (22 points plus Triple Word Score plus 50 points for using all seven of his letters.) When Homer demands Bart say what a kwyjibo is, Bart replies, «A big, dumb, balding North American ape… with no chin.» Marge adds in, «…and a short temper.» At this point, Homer chases Bart away, causing him to exclaim, «Uh oh! Kwyjibo on the loose!»

‘Kwyjibo’ was used as one of the aliases of the creator of the Melissa worm, and is the name of a yo-yo string trick. ‘Kweejibo’ is a handmade clothing company in San Francisco.

Recently, Yahoo’s online version of Scrabble was advertised on the Yahoo home page with a visual representation of letter tiles spelling out K-W-Y-J-I-B-O. Kwyjibo is also the name of a puzzle involving a Scrabble board in The Simpsons Scene It.

L[edit]

Lamarella[edit]

A lame female (a pun on Cinderella).

Bart: Skanks for nothin’, Lamarella.

Land Cow[edit]

How an early Springfield settler describes a buffalo after seeing one for the first time, in the episode «Lisa the Iconoclast». In the film Young Jebediah Springfield, which relates the founding of Springfield, the group of migrants see a wild buffalo, with one of them proclaiming, «It’s some sort of land cow!» Presumably a reference to sea cows, a term for manatees.

In the video game The Simpsons: Hit & Run, when driving with Cletus Spuckler he will yell «Move it, Land Cow!» upon hitting something.

Land Monster[edit]

An alternative name for groundhog, coined by an Adam-like Homer in the episode «Simpsons Bible Stories».

Land of Chocolate[edit]

Germany, as described by one of the new owners of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in «Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk».

Lard-ho[edit]

Yelled by Horatio McCallister when he spots Homer.

Learnatorium[edit]

«The Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium», the new name for Burns’ germ warfare laboratory.

Learnding[edit]

Ralph Wiggum’s mispronunciation of «learning», as heard in «Lisa Gets an «A»».

Liberty Log[edit]

Liberty log, according to Abe Simpson, was the name given to sushi during the second World War, and no one ever heard of it. This is similar to the term Freedom Fries.

Little Horse[edit]

A racing greyhound. The phrase started in «Two Dozen and One Greyhounds» on a banner outside the Springfield Dog track, which read: Just Think of Them as Little Horses. Homer adopts the phrase…

Homer Simpson: Come on, you little horse!

LSD[edit]

Love for my son and daughter. In «Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily», Marge, apparently clueless about the drug that shares these initials, tells a social worker that LSD is the only thing she’s high on.

Lupper[edit]

When Bart and Lisa embarrass their parents while having brunch, Homer decides to leave and go to Moe’s, stating he will see them at «lupper» (a portmanteau of lunch and supper). This rather obvious parallel portmanteau has appeared before in Archie Comics and in the television sitcom Seinfeld.

M[edit]

Magumbos[edit]

A term for large breasts, spontaneously coined by Krusty the Clown in «Large Marge» when Marge flashed her enhanced figure to a crowd: «Wow! Look at those magumbos!» Fortuitously, it was the same as Stampy the elephant’s safety word, «magumbo», which meant that Krusty’s exclamation saved Stampy from getting shot by the police and Bart, Milhouse and Homer from being devoured by Stampy.

Magguppies[edit]

A euphemism for breasts. In «Large Marge», Marge says to the doctors who gave her a boob job, «What on Earth have you done?! My maguppies became bazongas!».

Malonga Gilderchuck[edit]

A fictitious Australian word, used in describing how the bullfrogs are all over the place; presumably it is a generic term for an arbitrary, but common, location. Lisa and Marge are in the general store, and the shopkeeper is sweeping away all the bullfrogs, remarking, «These bloody things are everywhere. They’re in the lift, in the lorry, in the bond wizard, and all over the malonga gilderchuck.»

Malparkage[edit]

The state or condition of being illegally parked. In «The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson» Barney had left Homer’s car illegally parked on the plaza at the World Trade Center. Homer then received a letter regarding this violation:

«Dear motorist, your vehicle is illegally parked in the borough of Manhattan. If you do not remedy this malparkage within 72 hours, your car will be thrown into the East River at your expense.»

This could be a reference to George Orwell’s Newspeak, featured in his book 1984, where mal is a prefix for mistake, bad, or wrong. The following is a bureaucratic jargon quote (not actually Newspeak, but using Newspeak prefixing) from 1984 asking the protagonist to fix an error in Big Brother’s speech on Africa:

«times 17.3.84 bb speech malreported Africa rectify»

(Translated into standard English: «There is an error in the reporting of Big Brother’s speech in the Times of 17 March 1984 with regards to Africa; it needs to be rectified.»)

«Mal-» is also a Latin root word meaning «bad,» and is used in several English words such as «malfunction,» «malignant,» and «maladjusted.»

It could also be a play on the legal term «malpractice» in medical law.

Mazuma[edit]

Money. See Zazz below.

Megacide[edit]

The murder of a giant. Used by Eddie in «Simpsons Bible Stories», when he arrests King David (Bart) after killing Goliath’s son, Goliath II.

Menapplause[edit]

Applause specifically directed toward menopause. Coined by guest star Robert Wagner (or his writers; he says «menapplause? I’m not saying that») in the episode «Goo Goo Gai Pan».

[edit]

A boy who skillfully distributes menus from a restaurant in order to advertise it. The owner of the Springfield restaurant You Thai Now employed Bart as a menu boy in «Lisa the Tree Hugger».

Meth-taurant[edit]

A meth lab which Homer mistook for a restaurant in «The Food Wife».

Homer: Marge! This isn’t a food restaurant! It’s a meth restaurant! A meth-taurant!

Microcalifragilistics[edit]

A field of science apparently made up (and studied) by Professor Frink.

This is a spoof of the term «supercalifragilisticexpialidocious» from the movie Mary Poppins.

Milhousing[edit]

A word used when someone is making another person look like Milhouse, e.g.: «Stop Milhousing your sister!»

Mobilomobile[edit]

Mr. Burns’s name for a car.

Momatoes[edit]

Homer’s mispronunciation and misspelling of tomatoes. («Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?»).

Money Fight[edit]

This is like a snow-ball fight, only with wads of cash in place of snow-balls. It can be done with two or more people within close range of each other. Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers decide to have a money fight in the middle of a difficult conversation concerning the power plant’s safety budget.

Mr. and Mrs. Never-Spank[edit]

A term coined by Judge Constance Harm (in «The Parent Rap») for parents who are lax about disciplining their children: «Kids are running wild, Kent, and I blame Mr. and Mrs. Never-Spank!»

N[edit]

Neglecterino[edit]

Ned Flanders’ typically cuddly and innocent term for a neglected child. The line was originally pitched by Matt Groening to be «abuserino», but was dismissed as sounding too harsh.

Neighborino[edit]

A Ned-Flanderized version of the word «neighbor.» Possibly inspired by comedian Louis Nye on the Steve Allen Comedy Hour (1967), whose character Gordon Hathaway greeted Allen by saying «Hi, ho, Steve-a-reeno.»

May also be inspired by Kimmy Gibbler’s «Hola, Tanneritos» from the sitcom Full House.

Nervous Pervis[edit]

A term for a nervous person. Introduced in «The Frying Game» by Mrs. Bellamy: «Oh Homer, don’t be such a nervous pervis.» Later used by Ned Flanders in The Simpsons Movie: «Uh, Homer? I don’t mean to be a nervous pervis, but if he falls, couldn’t that make your son a paraplegiarino?»

No-breath[edit]

A person who cannot create condensation very well on glass with their breath.

[Jimbo breathes on the glass of the freezer at the Kwik-E-Mart, then writes «BITE ME» in the condensation.]

Dolph: Hah! Some ice cream guy’s going to see that, and it’ll blow his mind.

Bart: Let me try. [He tries to form condensation on the glass by breathing, but it fails.]

Jimbo: Way to breathe, no-breath.

Non-giving-up school guy[edit]

A determined, male member of a school faculty. In «The Boy Who Knew Too Much», Bart played hooky from school, and Skinner relentlessly pursued him. Bart was surprised at Skinner’s determination, and said, «He’s like some kind of non-giving-up school guy!».

Non-Jesus-y[edit]

Not resembling something related to Jesus. In «Black-Eyed, Please», Ned Flanders had a nightmare in which he was sent to a personalised version of Hell, which included, among other things, «non-Jesus-y beards».

Norwad[edit]

Someone from Ogdenville as most Ogdenvillians are of Norwegian descent.

Bart: Step aside, Norwads. Watch how the natives ride sky.

Nuclear Whipping Boy (NWB)[edit]

In the episode «Worst Episode Ever», it is revealed, in a film that Bart and Milhouse find in Comic Book Guy’s stash of illegal films hidden in his basement, that Springfield is classified Nuclear Whipping Boy in case of an emergency and will be bombed at will by all allies to calibrate their missiles. The general who is divulging this information then terminates the cameraman.

Nucleon[edit]

Homer’s stated place of work; mispronunciation of nuclear power plant.

A nucleon is actually a term for the particles of matter within a nucleus.

Nulecule[edit]

According to Homer, the mother of all atomic particles.

Moe is a contestant on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire clone show Me Wantee and as his lifeline, calls Homer for help on which of «electron», «neutron», «proton» or «bonbon», is not an atomic particle. Homer begins a diatribe, «Well, it all starts when a nulecule comes out of its nest…» then Lisa grabs the phone and tells Moe that the correct answer is «bonbon». Moe follows Lisa’s advice and wins $500,000. Moe then passes on the million dollar question and the Millionaire babes burn other half of the million dollars in a wheelbarrow.

The true essence of a nulecule and how it gets pregnant (and who or what gets it pregnant) and gives birth to atomic particles has not yet been explained.

Nuisancefon[edit]

Mock German, meaning a phone which causes distress.

In the episode «Bart vs. Australia», Bart dials several Southern Hemisphere countries attempting to discover in which direction their toilets flush. One of those countries is Argentina, where Bart winds up dialing a man who appears to be Adolf Hitler. When the man can’t answer his phone in time, he laments, «Ach! Das Beinfon ist ein… Nuisancefon!»

Nutty Fudgekins[edit]

A euphemistic exclamation Marge uses when something bad happens.

Marge: Aaah, nutty fudgekins!

Ny Mets[edit]

A phrase uttered by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon when he was pretending to be an American. He attempted to refer to the New York Mets, but failed to understand that «NY» is an acronym so instead spoke it as if it was a word.

O[edit]

Oh, mercy![edit]

What Skinner says when he finds something funny.

Skinner: Oh, ho ho, that place must be falling apart. Oh, mercy!

Okely Dokely[edit]

Ned Flanders’ version of the phrase, «Okie Dokie.»

Another variation is «Okely-dokely-do.»

The Old Fork in the Eye[edit]

Moe’s trick of stabbing people in the eye when they least suspect it.

On-purpose baby[edit]

A baby who was conceived on purpose. In «Adventures in Baby-Getting», Marge expressed a desire to have a baby, and Homer was surprised at the idea of having an «on-purpose» baby because all of their current children were conceived unintentionally.

Onetuplet[edit]

Pronounced one-tuplit, a child not born as part of a multiple-birth pregnancy. Specifically, what Homer laments his children are compared to the free gift-receiving octuplets of Apu and Manjula.

One Way Passage to the Boneyard[edit]

Horatio McCallister’s word for an upcoming doom.

Horatio McCallister: Arr, Burns, your scurvy schemes will earn ya a one way passage to the boneyard.

Oodily[edit]

A variant of doodily used by Flanders when he’s nervous or screwing up his words.

Flanders [upon learning that Bart, Lisa and Maggie were never baptised]: Reverend…emergency! I… it’s the Simpson kids… eedily… I, uh, baptism… oodily… doodily doodily!

Osaka Flu[edit]

A variation on influenza, that originated in Osaka, Japan, hence the name.

In «Marge in Chains», a factory worker in Osaka came down with it, but showed up to work anyway. He then coughed a visible cloud of germs into a box, which was sent to Springfield, along with several other contaminated boxes, starting a town-wide epidemic that infected many citizens including Homer, Bart, Patty, Selma, Principal Skinner, Chief Wiggum, and Todd Flanders.

Its main symptoms are fever and coughing, but it can also cause lethargy, loss of consciousness (such as with Skinner) and delirium (such as with Todd).

Several citizens tried to protect themselves from the Osaka flu, such as Mayor Quimby who secretly left town to go to the beach, and Mr. Burns who tried to seal himself in a dome, only for Homer to already be there.

A crowd of infected people demanded a cure from Dr. Hibbert, but he told them that the only cure was bed rest and anything else would be a placebo. They ransacked his van to search for «placebos» and released a swarm of killer bees, one of which a man ate. He thought it had cured him, but then it stung him.

Ovulicious[edit]

A portmanteau of «ovulation» and «delicious.» (See sacrilicious.)

When Apu’s wife Manjula gives birth to octuplets, Apu confesses to secretly giving his wife fertility drugs. Several of the Simpsons admit that they had done the same, and Homer says «Mine tasted like strawberry.» He pops one of the pills into his mouth, moaning «Mmm, ovulicious!».

P[edit]

Paraplegiarino[edit]

Flanders’ euphemism for a paraplegic. From The Simpsons Movie.

Flanders: Uh, Homer? I don’t mean to be a nervous pervis, but if he falls, couldn’t that make your son a paraplegiarino?

Pasghetti[edit]

Homer’s mispronunciation and misspelling of spaghetti. («Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?»).

Picto-cube[edit]

Used by Mr. Burns when describing a television.

Mr. Burns: Jumping box, television, picto-cube, just crank it up!

Pointy kitty[edit]

Ralph Wiggum’s description of a rat, when he and Bart are looking for a lost key to the electric chair of Morningwood Penetentiary in the episode «This Little Wiggy».

Ralph: There’s the key! [A rat takes the key] Aagh! The pointy kitty took it!

Pollutinest[edit]

Most polluted. Used by the Rich Texan in conjunction with «rootinest tootinest».

Popsticle[edit]

Ralph Wiggum’s mispronunciation of the word «Popsicle».

Posturologists[edit]

Scientists who study the field of posture. Mrs. Krabappel informs her students that their oddly curved chairs were designed by such scientists in «The Boy Who Knew Too Much». Possibly just a marketing term used to sell the uncomfortable chairs.

Edna Krabappel: Well, children, our new ultra-hard Posturefect chairs have arrived. They’ve been designed by eminent posturologists to eliminate slouching by the year 3000.

Pox Box[edit]

A term for a box in which somebody afflicted with chicken pox sat and other people would come and try to contract it.

In «Milhouse of Sand and Fog», Maggie caught the chicken pox and the Simpsons threw a «pox party» so that the neighborhood kids would catch chicken pox before they were grown.

Homer put Maggie in a box and said, «Introducing the Pox Box!».

Presbylutheran[edit]

Formally The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism, it is the Protestant church attended by the Simpson family. Presbylutheranism was formed as a result of a schism with the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches over the right for worshippers to attend church with wet hair (a tenet the Presbylutheran church has since abandoned). A group of Presbylutheran ministers were also responsible for the approval of the stop-motion Gravey and Jobriath (a parody of Davey and Goliath, possibly referring to the singer Jobriath); we see one episode in which Gravey builds a pipe bomb to blow up a Planned Parenthood. See Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism.

Pretzeled Bread[edit]

Mr. Burns’ word for pretzels.

Prudissitude[edit]

One of the cardinal virtues in Presbylutheran ethics, prudissitude is the disposition to be shocked or embarrassed by matters relating to sex or nudity. Expressions of prudissitude are commonly made out of concern «for the children». In the episode, «In Marge We Trust», Marge raises her concerns about Rvd. Lovejoy’s ministry, telling him that «Sermons about Constancy and Prudissitude are all very well and good, but the church could be doing so much more to reach people.»

Pricetaggery[edit]

«To spoil the fun of buying something by noticing the exorbitant price»; when Mr. Burns decides to make amends for his ingratitude after receiving the gift of life from Bart’s blood, he takes Smithers shopping and then berates him for his pricetaggery.

Pull a Homer[edit]

«To succeed despite idiocy», or rather, to have great amounts of dumb luck. After Homer does so in the episode «Homer Defined», this phrase becomes a temporary fad in the Simpsonverse.

Q[edit]

Quantum Tunnel[edit]

A tunnel (that will be invented in the future) which does not physically exist, but traffic may pass through, by some quirk of physics. Future Homer drives his hovercar through the Quantum Tunnel on his way to Moe’s Bar. It may be that the Quantum Tunnel replaced the Warren G. Harding Memorial Throughhole.

The name may be a reference to the real phenomenon of quantum tunneling.

Quetzalzacatenango[edit]

During the episode «El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer», Homer samples many different chilis proudly served by Springfield residents at the annual chili cook-off. Chief Wiggum prepares an especially spicy concoction for Homer containing, «The merciless insanity peppers of Quetzlzacatenango… grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.» «Quetzal» is a Central American bird and the currency of Guatemala. «Tenango» means in K’iche «land of». Acatenango is a volcano in Guatemala. «Quetzaltenango», also known as «Xela», is the second largest city in Guatemala. «Quetzalcoatl» was an Aztec deity.

R[edit]

Rageohol(ic)[edit]

A fictitious substance that creates rage. From the episode «I Am Furious (Yellow)», in which Homer admits: «I’m a rageoholic! I just can’t live without rageohol!»

Like workaholic, the word is based on alcoholic, using «oholic» as a suffix for «addicted to.»

Rastafy[edit]

To make more Rastafarian. Used by an animation executive designing Poochie, the unpopular character added to Itchy and Scratchy, as a byword for coolness. Rastafy was previously used by hip-hop artist The D.O.C. in his song ‘It’s Funky Enough’.

Raytheist[edit]

Disbelief in the existence of Ray. Used by Ned Flanders in the episode «Don’t Fear the Roofer». Ray Romano guest stars as Ray Magini, whom Homer quickly befriends, but everyone else believes that Ray is a figment of Homer’s imagination.

Rear Admiral[edit]

Its full name is The Dreaded Rear Admiral: a fictitious school bully prank mentioned by Milhouse in «Treehouse of Horror IV». From the context, it sounds like it may be related to the Wedgie, but according to the writers, it doesn’t actually exist.^[3]

Milhouse: If I lean over, I leave myself open to wedgies, wet willies, or even the dreaded rear admiral!

Rebigulator[edit]

In the «Genesis Tub» part of the episode «Treehouse of Horror VII», Lisa asks if she will ever be able to become normal size after Professor Frink uses the Debigulator on her. In response Frink says, «Why that would require some sort of rebigulator!».

Re-Dorkulated[edit]

In «The Blunder Years», a hypnotist turns Professor Frink into a suave ladies man, which suggests strongly that Frink’s character is modeled on Jerry Lewis’s Nutty Professor/Buddy Love very closely. When the spell wears off Frink says, «Oh dear, I’ve redorkulated.» Literally, the word means, «to become dorky again.»

Re-Neducation[edit]

When Ned Flanders gains control of the world in «Treehouse of Horror V», this phrase is used to refer to the process of «fixing» those who have escaped Ned’s control. The process involves mechanically forcing clients to smile and performing frontal lobotomies.

Retirony[edit]

In the episode «Homer vs. Dignity», Chief Wiggum explains to a financial planner that retirony means he’ll get shot three days before retirement. Seemingly a portmanteau of ‘retire’ and ‘irony’.

Based on a common cliché in crime and action films, examples of retirony are one of the show’s longest-lasting running gags, as illustrated by these instances:

• «Saturdays of Thunder» — Homer watches a McBain movie, where McBain’s doomed partner (an analogue to Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon) is killed right before retirement.
• «Homer and Apu» — When Homer smashes the hidden camera hat used to spy on Apu, Kent Brockman tells him that the hat had one day left until retirement.
• «The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons» — A man working at a marquee sign puts up a message reading «Today: Bachelor Auction. Tomorrow: I Retire, Ya Bastards!». Just after he finishes putting up the exclamation point, the man topples off of his ladder and falls to the ground.
• «Natural Born Kissers» — When a police dog sniffs a pair of Homer’s underwear, it runs away, prompting Wiggum to say that the dog had one day left until retirement.
• «Homer to the Max» — A tree falls onto a police car, destroying it. Wiggum notes that the car had one day left until retirement.
• «Marge Simpson in: «Screaming Yellow Honkers»» — Marge crashes into a prison, freeing some inmates, and Wiggum tells her, «Those prisoners were one day away from being completely rehabilitated.»

Reverse Vampires[edit]

Vampires that only come out during the day and sleep at night. First, mockingly suggested by Lisa in the episode «Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy» as to the reason why parents were going to bed early. Later added to Bart’s Grand Conspiracy Theory diagram along with the Saucer People and the Rand Corporation. («We’re through the looking glass, people» comments Milhouse, quoting a line from the film JFK).

In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode «Bus of the Undead,» Master Shake refers to a supposedly vampiritic bus as a reverse vampire.

Reversifying Glass[edit]

According to Cletus’s wife (and sister), Brandine, «mirror» is just «a big city word for Reversifying Glass» (From the episode «The Seven-Beer Snitch»).

Rhinoceros pox[edit]

A condition resulting in horns growing all over the body. It was seen as an effect of the «anti-booze» serum in «The Last Barfighter». The name is likely a parody of the actual disease «chickenpox».

Riding the Midnight Train to Slab City[edit]

Moe Syzlak’s euphemism for «dead». (From «Lisa the Tree Hugger».)

Rock and/or Roll[edit]

Reverend Lovejoy’s bizarre term for rock ‘n’ roll music. Heard in «Bart Sells His Soul» when Bart pranked the church by slipping «In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida» (a classic rock tune by Iron Butterfly) into the music for a Sunday service by disguising it as a hymn, «In the Garden of Eden» by «I. Ron Butterfly». Shortly after the organ solo began, Lovejoy became suspicious and said, «Wait a minute … This sounds like rock and/or roll!»

S[edit]

Sacrilicious[edit]

Homer’s description of his act after eating a waffle that Bart threw on the ceiling, which he was praying to as if it were God. In the episode’s DVD commentary, the writers stated that it was related to a disgusting candy on the ceiling of the writing room. The word is a portmanteau of the words sacrilegious and delicious. From the episode «Homer Loves Flanders».

Sally Housecoat[edit]

C. Charles Montgomery Burns’ condescending dismissal of ordinary, middle or working-class women. Used along with «Johnny Lunchpail» From the episode «Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish».

Sandal-wearing goldfish tenders[edit]

The Japanese, as described by Mr. Burns’ grandfather in «Last Exit to Springfield».

Saxamaphone[edit]

Homer’s word for Lisa’s favorite instrument.

He also seems to be unable to pronounce several other instruments. In «Lisa’s Sax» where Homer tells Lisa the story of how she got her sax, he suggests a few other potential instruments: oboe-ma-bo, vio-mo-lin and tuba-ma-ba.

This is an example of Mytacism, or «Too frequent use of the letter m, or of the sound represented by it.»

During Lisa’s absence in «Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily», Homer attempted to «play» Lisa’s baritone saxophone in her memory by singing «Saxamaphone» to the tune of the initial motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony into the instrument.

Scalpal[edit]

Relating to the scalp. See also chestal.

Skinner: What kind of parents would allow such a lapse in scalpal hygiene?

Science Pole[edit]

A long pole, usually made of metal, used for scientific purposes.

Scientist: Frink, are you mad?! Put down that science pole!

Scientician[edit]

An incorrect name for a scientist. From the «educational» film Meat and You: Partners in Freedom, featured in «Lisa the Vegetarian»:

Jimmy: Uhh, Mr. McClure? I have a crazy friend who says it’s wrong to eat meat. Is he crazy?

Troy: No, just ignorant. You see, your crazy friend never heard of «The Food Chain.» Just ask this scientician.

«Scientician»: [Looks up from microscope] Uh —

Troy: He’ll tell you that, in nature, one creature invariably eats another creature to survive.

Probably a combination of the words ‘science’ or ‘scientist’ and the -cian ending of such words as ‘dietician’, ‘physician’, or ‘statistician’.

Scotchtoberfest[edit]

Scotchtoberfest is a fake Scottish festival which was featured in the episode «Bart’s Girlfriend». It was invented by Principal Seymour Skinner to catch Bart red-handed in the act of perpetrating a prank, as is Bart’s perennial wont. Groundskeeper Willy, the Scottish school janitor, plays the bagpipes whilst wearing a kilt. Bart lifts his kilt with helium balloons, and since Willy wears his kilt without underpants, at least one woman faints at the sight.

Skinner: There’s no such thing as Scotchtoberfest.

Willie: [sounding genuinely surprised] There’s not?! Ya used me, Skinner. Ya used me!

It is a play on the Oktoberfest held in Munich, Germany every September.

Screamapillar[edit]

Main article: Screamapillar

A caterpillar that screams nearly all the time, even as it sleeps. Without constant reassurement, it will die, and it is sexually attracted to fire. It is endangered and illegal to kill one, despite the fact that it is a menace and that there are so many ways it can be killed. As Homer puts it, «You sure God doesn’t want it to die?»

Scrod Basket[edit]

The fictional town of Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport is called «America’s scrod basket» in «Summer of 4 Ft. 2». Conversely, Springfield is «America’s Crud Bucket», according to Newsweek. Scrod means «A young cod or haddock, especially one split and boned for cooking as the catch of the day,» so a scrod basket could be a type of fish container, or, in this context, a place producing lots of fish (Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport appears to be on the coast, so this is feasible). This could also refer to fish and chips, a meal that is often served in coastal towns in a plastic basket with scrod as the fish — hence «scrod basket.»

• Lisa:So where are we going anyway?
  Marge:Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport. Apparently it’s America’s Scrod basket.
  Bart:I thought Springfield was America’s Scrod basket.
  Marge:No, Springfield is America’s crud bucket. At least, according to Newsweek.

Senseless Dunderpate[edit]

A useless stupid person, according to Mr. Burns, who used the term in reference to Homer in «Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)».

Mr. Burns: My name is the return address, you senseless dunderpate! Smithers, who is this nincompoop?

«Dunderhead» is a derogatory term for a person of lesser intelligence, and «pate» is an old-fashioned word for «head». Having Burns call someone a «dunderpate», therefore, is yet another reference to his advanced age and his propensity for using archaic words and expressions.

Sentimonies[edit]

A synonym for «sentiments». Homer Simpson uses it when agreeing with Moe about immigrants’ poor English, despite proving himself to have a poor grasp of the language himself.

She U.I.[edit]

A D.U.I. (driving under the influence) committed by a woman.

Chief Wiggum: This D.U.I. is a She U.I.! («Co-Dependent’s Day»)

Shinning[edit]

A play on the mispronunciation of the word «Shining» as a reference to the sixth sense, as in the Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film The Shining. It appears in episode «Treehouse of Horror V». But as Willie stated that it was so they wouldn’t get sued.

Groundskeeper Willie: Boy, you read my thoughts! You’ve got the Shinning.

Bart: You mean Shining.

Groundskeeper Willie: Shhh! Do ya’ want to get sued?

Shirkaday[edit]

In «22 Short Films About Springfield», while he and Mr. Burns are riding a tandem bicycle, Smithers is stung by a bee and goes into anaphylactic shock. To save his lackey, Mr. Burns employs an insult-based motivational technique to inspire Smithers to pedal them both to the hospital. As they collapse upon arrival at the hospital, with his last gasp Mr. Burns calls Smithers a «wretched shirkaday.» From «to shirk,» meaning to avoid duty or responsibility, plus «workaday.»

Shirt-wiener[edit]

A shirt tail sticking out of an open pants zipper, from «Thank God It’s Doomsday». While hunting for a winning photo to be hung in the school lobby for the rest of the year, the Springfield Elementary Photo Club saw that Principal Skinner’s zipper was down and his shirt tail was sticking out. Nelson declared, «Look! The Principal has a shirt-wiener!» Much photo snapping quickly ensued, to the chagrin of Skinner.

Shiva H. Vishnu[edit]

An expression of surprise used by Apu, a Hindu. Obvious reference to «Jesus H. Christ».

Simpson butt[edit]

According to Homer in «Sleeping with the Enemy», this is a body type that every Simpson has, characterised by a round butt.

Skanks for nothing[edit]

A ruder version of «thanks for nothing».

Bart: Skanks for nothin’, Lamarella.

Skittlebrau[edit]

Beer with pieces of candy floating in it.

Homer: «I’m feelin’ low, Apu. You got any of that beer that has candy floating in it, you know, Skittlebrau?»

Apu: «Such a product does not exist, sir! You must have dreamed it.»

Homer: «Oh. Well then, just gimme a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.»

Smarch[edit]

The 13th month of the year, which exists only on Springfield Elementary’s misprinted calendars. Many Simpsons merchandise calendars also feature Smarch as a «bonus» month.

Homer: Lousy Smarch weather!

Smashy Smashy[edit]

Used to inform others of your intentions to wantonly destroy an object or objects, or to encourage others to do so.

After smashing a window with cameras behind it.
Bart: Smashy, smashy.(smashes a random window)
Marge: Hmm, I don’t approve of that.

From the episode «Itchy & Scratchy Land».

Smeckler’s Powder[edit]

A fictional treatment option suggested in jest by Bart in «Lady Bouvier’s Lover», to mock Grampa’s and Grandma Jackie’s competing suggestions for a medicinal response to Maggie’s frightened reaction to flashbulbs, candles, and a darkened room during her birthday party. Said suggestions included: «Lister’s Carbolic Unguent» on a wad of cotton, placed in Maggie’s ear (from Grampa); a «balsam specific» (from Grandma Jackie); and a «curative galvanic belt» (facetiously from Grampa). This is a reference to unregulated (pre-FDA) early 20th Century pharmacological quackery.

Smell Ya Later[edit]

Phrase coined by Nelson Muntz in the episode Bart to the Future. Another way to say ‘see ya later’ or ‘goodbye.’

Bart: I can’t believe ‘smell ya later’ replaced ‘goodbye’.

Smendler[edit]

A word made up by Mr. Burns in «Last Exit to Springfield» for a song parodying Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch:

«Look at them all, through the darkness I’m bringing
They’re not sad at all. They’re actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!«

The word is also used by Professor Frink’s father after being given an unspecified type of hors d’œuvre possibly containing fish.

Frink’s father: Mmmm, that’s a good smendler.

Professor Frink: Oh, I’ve waited so long to hear you say that again! …What does it mean? Is it dirty?

Smitily[edit]

An adverb which describes of triumph over another knight in battle, to the point where a doctor needs to be called. Origin is allegedly pure Flanders. Said by Ned to Smithers in «Lisa’s Wedding».

Zounds, I did thee mightily smitily!

Smokesperson[edit]

A spokesperson for a cigarette company, such as Laramie Cigarettes’ Menthol Moose, or Joe Camel.

The American Cancer Society has used this term frequently in a recent anti-smoking ad campaign parodying «American Idol» entitled «America’s Next Smokesperson».

Also used to describe Nick Naylor in the 1994 book Thank You For Smoking: A Novel.»

Snacktacular[edit]

In the episode «Lisa Gets an «A»», Snacktacular is offered by Edna Krabappel as an acceptable atomic weight for the element Bolognium as taken from a promotional periodic table provided by Oscar Mayer.

Snitchy[edit]

A person who snitches on others.

Milhouse: Bart did it! That Bart right there!

Bart: Milhouse!

Reverend Lovejoy: Milhouse, you did the right thing. Bart, come with me for punishment. You too, snitchy.

Sophistimacated Doowhackey[edit]

Homer’s term for a complex machine, used to describe Frink’s matter transporter. i.e «Bart, this is a highly sophistimacated doowhackey,» proving that he can’t even get the word «doohickey» right.

Speedholes or Speed Holes[edit]

While dressed as Krusty the Clown, Homer is shot at by mob assassins (under the direction of Fat Tony) as he visits a car dealership. Asking about the new bullet holes peppering the vehicle he is interested in (after they shoot and miss), Homer is told by the quick-thinking salesman that they are speedholes to make the car go faster. (Homer responds knowingly, «Oh, yeah. Speed holes!») Later in the episode, Homer ‘installs’ speedholes in his existing car with a pick-axe, to the bafflement of Ned Flanders. The word has been picked up by many fans to jokingly describe the condition of run-down cars (specifically, those with holes in the body).

In reality, Buick cars are famous for having holes in the front fender, on either side. Originally they were used as air intakes but today the holes are decorative. However, more holes do indirectly imply a faster car, as on current models eight holes (four on each side) indicates a V-8 engine and six holes indicates a V-6.

Spiritual De-pantsing[edit]

Apu’s description for his karmic fall from grace, suffered in Episode 1F10, «Homer and Apu». In response to Marge asking him if he would accompany her to the Kwik-E-Mart for milk, Apu said, «I cannot go there. That is the scene of my spiritual de-pantsing.»

Spokesrebel[edit]

A corporate mascot designed to appeal to the anti-authoritarian streak in children and teens. Lindsey Naegle used the term to refer to Scammer & Z-Dog, the mascots of a line of snack machines that she was pitching to Principal Skinner: «These two spokesrebels were invented by the marketing team that came up with ‘Hip-hopsicles’, the urban popsicle!» («The Heartbroke Kid»)

Squozen[edit]

From Lemon of Troy as Milhouse’s declaration of having squeezed all of the lemons at his lemonade stand.

Milhouse: Gasp! We’ve squozen our whole supply. To the lemon tree!

Stabby[edit]

From «Grift of the Magi» and «The Italian Bob»; the state or condition of being likely to stab.

FAT TONY: I don’t get mad. I get stabby.

MARGE [on Sideshow Bob]: He’s getting that stabby look again.

Steamed Hams[edit]

An alternate name for hamburgers. In one of the segments from «22 Short Films About Springfield», a mishap in the kitchen forces Principal Skinner to tell Superintendent Chalmers they were having steamed clams. After Skinner sneaks back from Krustyburger with lunch, Chalmers confronts him on the change in menu. Skinner tries to pass off that he in fact said ‘steamed hams‘, a regional term from upstate New York synonymous with hamburgers. When Chalmers retorts that he is from Utica, and has never heard the term, and that the nickname «steamed hams» made no sense because the burgers were «obviously grilled», Skinner’s final stab at alleviating his discomfort is «oh, no, it’s an Albany expression». To this, an inexplicably satisfied Chalmers replies, «I see,» and ceases the questioning immediately. This is probably Skinner’s best performance at dealing with Chalmers; at the end of the night, Chalmers remarks «Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say… you steam a good ham.»

In the French Canadian version, Skinner tries to pass a hamburger off as «un ham vapeur,» claiming that it’s a regional dialect from the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. Chalmers tells Skinner he’s from Jonquière and has never heard the term «ham vapeur,» but Skinner tells him that it’s an Alma expression.

Stinkables[edit]

A generic term that appeared in the «Trash of the Titans» episode, referring to any article that emits a foul or unpleasant odor. When telling the voters what the garbagemen will do, one of the things is «Air out your ‘stinkables'».

Successmanship[edit]

The practice of success through the use of «Megatronics»; Homer enrolls in Stark Richdale’s extension class Successmanship 101, which gives him the «Megatronics: The 48 Tips to Corporate Success» tools needed to take over the SNPP. From «C.E. D’oh».

[Homer leaves the class and is reading the Successmanship book while driving]

Homer: «Step One, ‘Live every day as if it were your last.'»

[cut to next scene: Homer sobbing inconsolably on the curb]

Homer: «Step Two…»

«Megatronics: The 48 Tips to Corporate Success» is a direct reference to the book «The 48 Laws of Power.» Megatronics also appears to be an oblique reference to the engineering discipline mechatronics.

Suck Shack[edit]

Bart Simpson’s name for Springfield Elementary. In «How the Test Was Won», Bart laments, «I can’t believe we have to start another year at school. I never learned anything at that suck shack.» Later in the episode, when Superintendent Chalmers is preparing students for a high stakes standardized test he explains, «Your scores on this test will determine how much money this suck-shack gets for years to come.»

Sunblocker[edit]

A large screen that blocks out the sun over a large area. The Springfield sunblocker was dreamt up and built by Mr. Burns in «Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)». It was destroyed by angry residents in «Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)».

Superliminal[edit]

Describes something so apparent or obvious that it’s irresistible. The most direct of the three methods («Subliminal, liminal, and superliminal») used by Navy recruiter Lt. L. T. Smash to convince new recruits. The term was coined in the 12th season episode «New Kids on the Blecch».

• Lisa: But you have recruiting ads on TV. Why do you need subliminal messages?
  Smash: It’s a three-pronged attack: subliminal, liminal, and superliminal.
  Lisa: Superliminal?
  Smash: I’ll show you. [opens the window, and shouts at Lenny and Carl, who are standing on the corner] Hey, you! Join the Navy!
  Carl: Uh, yeah, all right.
  Lenny: I’m in.

Suspicious Aloysius[edit]

A suspicious person (Flanders, «Lisa’s Sax»).

Flanders: Well, sir, I hate to be suspicious Aloysius on you, but DID YOU STEAL MY AIR CONDITIONER!?

Swedish Lunchbox[edit]

What Grampa Simpson used to call a suitcase in his youth.

Grampa: Back in my day, a suitcase was called a Swedish lunchbox!

From the episode «Jaws Wired Shut».

Swishifying[edit]

The effect of the modern world, what with its TV and diet sodas, on the youth of today, as stated by keen-eyed observer of humanity Moe Szyslak in the episode «Homer’s Phobia». Suggested remedies involve killing men, or, better yet, a deer, which Barney declares is «like killing a beautiful man».

T[edit]

Tasty-Fake[edit]

A food product designed to look like something other than what it actually is.

In «All’s Fair in Oven War», Marge enters the Ovenfresh Bakeoff with «Dessert Dogs» — hot dogs which are actually made of cookie dough «dogs», meringue «buns», cherry sauce «ketchup», and caramel «mustard». When she presents the idea to an experienced contestant, he refers to the idea as a «tasty-fake». It might be a reference to the Delaware Valley’s popular Tastykake snack cakes. [1]

Taxitude[edit]

Lucius Sweet’s word referring to taxation, heard in «The Trouble with Trillions».

Lucius Sweet: This is an egregious miscarriage with the taxitude!

Telepanhandling[edit]

A portmanteau of «telemarketing» and «panhandling», specifically used by Homer in describing his auto-dialer scam. («Lisa’s Date with Density»)

Tex Avery Syndrome[edit]

An eye condition caused by high amounts of blood pressure in the eyeballs, which can be induced by stress. It is likely a reference to how Tex Avery’s animated characters would have their eyeballs bulge out to enormous distances from their heads when they were shocked, surprised, scared or enamored.

Dr. Hibbert: Now, Simpsons, I must warn you, any stress could increase the blood pressure in Marge’s eyeballs, leading to what we call «Tex Avery Syndrome».

Texas Left[edit]

A direction that is referred to as «down» in the rest of the country.

Texas Penny[edit]

A hundred dollar bill. When Moe bets the Rich Texan a hundred dollars on whether Homer can defeat him in an arm-wrestling contest, the Rich Texan throws his hundred dollar bill on the bar and claims it is a Texas penny.

Texas Snowball Fight[edit]

An ice cream fight where you throw ice cream like snowballs.

Third World Loser Country[edit]

A term used by Moe Syzlak in «The Boy Who Knew Too Much» to describe a third-world nation.
Moe: Freddy Quimby was with me the entire… night in question. We were collecting canned goods for the starving people in… er, you know, one of them loser countries.

Three Stooges Syndrome[edit]

A vast range of diseases so great in fact that they cancel each other out. Mr. Burns contracted this disease and is diagnosed at Mayo Clinic.

Throughhole[edit]

A type of road of relatively unknown description; it could be a combination of a thruway and a tunnel.

In the episode «Thank God It’s Doomsday» there are two references to a road leading out of Springfield called the Warren Harding Memorial Throughhole.

Tomacco[edit]

A fictional hybrid fruit that is half tomato and half tobacco, from the episode «E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)».

Tomorry[edit]

Homer’s former mangling of the word «tomorrow», as revealed in «HOMЯ».

Ton-In-Law[edit]

A word made up by Patty and Selma to describe Lucas Bortner in the episode «Luca$». It’s a play on the words «son-in-law» and «ton», referring to his weight.

Topwise[edit]

A direction in which one might seek to rotate the middle side of a Rubik’s Cube.

Tracted[edit]

The opposite of «distracted», according to Homer. In «Diatribe of a Mad Housewife», when Marge wanted Homer to read her book, «The Harpooned Heart», Homer stated he couldn’t get distracted. The prefix «dis» represents the opposite of the word to which it is attached, such as: disgrace — grace.

Since «distracted» means to not concentrate, then «tracted» apparently means to concentrate.

Homer: No, gotta read Marge’s book. Can’t get distracted. «Distracted»… that’s a funny word. Does anyone ever get «tracted»? I’m gonna call the suicide hotline and ask them.

Tramampoline[edit]

Homer’s mispronunciation of «trampoline» in «Bart’s Inner Child».

Traumedy[edit]

Perhaps spelled ‘Traumady’, Traumedy is a portmanteau of ‘trauma’ and ‘comedy’ identified by Dr Hibbert in the episode «Faith Off» as a syndrome of horrifying yet amusing injuries. Also a pun on the term «dramedy».

Tromboner[edit]

A term for one who plays the trombone. Mr. Largo the music teacher asks Lisa if she finds something funny about the word «tromboner» after she chuckles at a prank Nelson Muntz plays on Groundskeeper Willie in «Lisa’s Date with Density».

U[edit]

Unblowuppable[edit]

The state or condition of being unable to be blown up. Describing his model rocket, Homer said: «The word unblowuppable is thrown around a lot these days, but I think I can say for certain that … » and was then cut off by the rocket blowing up. («She of Little Faith») This may refer to the people who confidently predicted that the Titanic was «unsinkable».

Unfaceuptoable[edit]

Used by Mayor Quimby to describe the dire straits the town found itself in after Homer became Sanitation Commissioner, requiring the implementation of the town’s all-purpose contingency plan.

Mayor Quimby: We must face up to the unfaceuptoable!

Most likely a reference to «enduring the unendurable» in Emperor Hirohito’s Gyokuon-hōsō speech.

Unky[edit]

‘Unky Herb’, the term Herb Powell wants Bart and Lisa to call him, since «Uncle» is too formal and «Unky» is cuter.

Unpossible[edit]

Spoken by Ralph Wiggum in the episode «Lisa on Ice», as a synonym of «impossible.»

Ralph: [Upon Principal Skinner informing him that he’s failing English class] Me fail English? That’s unpossible!

«Unpossible» appears in Shakespeare’s play Richard II, Act 2, Scene 2.

The word first came into contemporary use in Walt Kelly’s comic strip Pogo.

Up and Atom[edit]

Radioactive Man’s catchphrase, used when he is about to spring into action. Coined in the episode «Radioactive Man». It is a play on the phrase, «Up and at them!»

Crew Member: Up and atom.

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and at them.

Crew Member: Up and atom.

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and at them.

Crew Member: Up and ATOM!

Rainer Wolfcastle: Up and AT THEM!

Crew Member: …Better.

Uppity Box[edit]

Cletus’ term for an elevator (from the episode «Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife»)

V[edit]

Velocitator[edit]

Mr. Burns’s archaic name for a car’s accelerator pedal. Burns attempts to drive a car for the first time while proclaiming he is sure the owners manual will instruct him as to which lever is the velocitator and which one is the deceleratrix.

Volleybrick[edit]

Volleyball played with a brick instead of a ball.

W[edit]

Walking Bird[edit]

Another name for a turkey. In «Lisa v. Malibu Stacy,» Grampa Simpson drones on with a rambling story about Thanksgiving:

«I just used [my washtub] that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as a walking bird. We’d always have walking bird on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we’d all watch football, which in those days was called ‘baseball’…»

Want-wit[edit]

A term used by Mr. Burns, evidently as a synonym for «idiot»; literally, someone who is wanting (or lacking) in wits. In «Goo Goo Gai Pan», Burns takes a driving test and tells Selma, who is in the process of lowering the soft top on his roadster, «Stop that, you want-wit! I could get stung by a bumbled-bee!»

Wellity[edit]

A goofy way of saying the word «well».

It was used by Homer to gloat in «Viva Ned Flanders» when he was glad that Ned was the one asking him for advice instead of the other way round. He said, «Wellity, wellity, wellity», which annoyed Ned.

Well-Wisher[edit]

Someone who does not wish you any specific harm.

When Homer asks the guys in the bar if they are his soulmate, Moe responds with, «I’m a well-wisher, in that I don’t wish you any specific harm.»

Whup-Tushie[edit]

Marge’s way of saying Whup-Ass in the episode «Maximum Homerdrive»

Marge: «It’s time we opened up a can of Whup-Tushie on this situation.»

Why You Little…[edit]

What Homer yells when he’s about to strangle Bart.

Widget[edit]

Mr. Burns’s word for a generic object that is mysterious to him.

Note: this actually is not a made-up word [2].

Wiggle Puppy[edit]

An imaginary dog made up by Ralph Wiggum, who can wiggle his tail to fly.

Marge: Is that normal?

Chief Wiggum: Oh, he’s just playing Wiggle Puppy. I tell ya, that dog has had some amazing adventures…

Woozle Wuzzle[edit]

Spoken by Bart on Krusty’s TV show after his rendition of his catchphrase, «I didn’t do it!» for the umpteenth time yielded only a short, quiet laugh, a cough and some crickets. From the «Bart Gets Famous» episode.

Initially said earlier in the episode by Homer, hoping to exploit his other children for financial gain, as a suggestion for something funny for Lisa to say:

Homer: Come on, Lisa, say something funny.

[holds a tape recorder with a microphone]

Lisa: Like what?

Homer: Oh, something stupid like Bart would say. «Bucka Bucka» or «Woozle Wuzzle»: something like that.

«Woozled» is also a colloquial term for «drunk; intoxicated with alcohol». «Wuzzled» is a possible variation.

Word hole[edit]

Used by Chief Wiggum in «Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming» to mean mouth.

Bob: There. That’s the last condom wrapper.

[a jet flies by, blowing all the neatly piled trash away]

Bob: Oh, I renew my objection to this pointless endeavor! Informally now and by affidavit later. Time permitting.

Wiggum: Shut your word hole! We’ve got to get this place clean for the air show.

Y[edit]

Yellow Fatty-Beans[edit]

What Grampa calls bananas. At the end of one of his trademark long, pointless speeches, he says, «…and that’s why today, bananas are called yellow fatty-beans. Any questions?».
From the episode «Natural Born Kissers».

Yoink![edit]

After appearing many times on The Simpsons, «Yoink» has gained widespread usage as a verbal exclamation made when removing or stealing an object from its owner or rightful place. It can also be used as a verb: «I yoinked it.» First used by Homer in «Duffless», when he snatches the wad of money he saved, by not drinking for a month, from Marge. Coined by Simpsons writer George Meyer. [3]

It is possible that «Yoink» is a verbal imitation of the sound effect (performed by a violin) which has been used to illustrate that something is being unceremoniously removed or stolen. The most recognizable example of this would be during the intro to «The Jetsons» where George holds out a dollar bill and «Yoink», Jane grabs the whole wallet instead. «Yoink» is a verbal declaration that a transaction has taken place, frequently to the consternation of the party relinquishing the article.

See also: The Yoink List.

You-know-what-icide[edit]

Spoken by Marge in You Kent Always Say What You Want, and she was referring to suicide because she was afraid Kent Brockman would commit the deed after losing his job after the mishap with Homer.

Z[edit]

Zazz[edit]

Used to describe that certain je ne sais quoi that Bart has as an anchor of Kidz News, and that Lisa, a much better investigative reporter, does not. From the episode «Girly Edition»:

Lisa: What is ‘zazz’?

Lindsay Naegle: Zing! Zork! Kapowza! Call it what you want, in any language it spells mazuma in the bank!

Lisa: ‘Zork’? What is ‘zork’?

Lindsay Naegle: I didn’t say ‘zork’. The point is, the camera loves him!

«Zazz» may possibly be a play on the word «pizzazz», meaning flair, zest or energy. Mr. Burns used the term to describe what happened when a male panda walked into a prank that Burns had Homer (disguised as a female panda) play at the zoo: «Well done, monkey. That other panda gave some unexpected zazz to the festivities, eh?» («Homer vs. Dignity»)

Zuh[edit]

Exclamation used when one cannot comprehend a complex situation or statement. Used by Bart Simpson, in the episode «The PTA Disbands», when Milhouse says to Bart: «Bart, you’ll never get Krabappel and Skinner together again.
They’re like two positively charged ions.» Bart responds, «Zuh?»

The word was also used by Homer in the episode «The Frying Game» when he could not think of anymore similar-sounding exclamations.

Homer (upon seeing the corpse of Mrs. Bellamy): Wha? Muh? Buh?…Zuh?

References[edit]

2. The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family. New York: HarperCollins Publishers; 1997.

3. Culturally significant phrases from The Simpsons. (2006, December 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:33, December 12, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culturally_significant_phrases_from_The_Simpsons&oldid=93845232

External links[edit]

• Homerisms: Figures of Speech in The Simpsons
• The Simpsons Archive: Episode Capsules
• The Simpsons Quotes: Collection of Simpsons Quotes
• Cromulent Shakespeare Company, a theater company in Minnesota employing «Simpsons» neologisms

People in general have no difficulty coping the new words. We can very quickly understand a new word in our language (a neologism) and accept the use of different forms of that new word. This ability must derive in part from the fact that there is a lot of regularity in the word-formation process in our language.

In some aspects the study of the processes whereby new words come into being language like English seems relatively straightforward. This apparent simplicity however masks a number of controversial issues. Despite the disagreement of scholars in the area, there don´t seem to be a regular process involved.

These processes have been at work in the language for some time and many words in daily use today were, at one time, considered barbaric misuses of the language.

What is Coinage?

Coinage is a common process of word-formation in English and it is the invention of totally new terms. The most typical sources are invented trade names for one company´s product which become general terms (without initial capital letters) for any version of that product.

For example: aspirin, nylon, zipper and the more recent examples kleenex, teflon.

This words tend to become everyday words in our language.

What is Borrowing?

Borrowing is one of the most common sources of getting new words in English. That is the taking over of words from other languages. Throughout history the English language has adopted a vast number of loan words from other languages. For example:

• Alcohol (Arabic)
• Boss (Dutch)
• Croissant (French)
• Piano (Italian)
• Pretzel (German)
• Robot (Czech)
• Zebra (Bantu)

Etc…

A special type of borrowing is the loan translation or calque. In this process, there is a direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language. For example: Superman, Loan Translation of Übermensch, German.

What is Compounding?

The combining process of words is technically known as compounding, which is very common in English and German. Obvious English examples would be:

• Bookcase
• Fingerprint
• Sunburn
• Wallpaper
• Textbook
• Wastebasket
• Waterbed

What is Blending?

The combining separate forms to produce a single new term, is also present in the process of blending. Blending, takes only the beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the other word.  For instance, if you wish to refer to the combined effects of smoke and fog, there´s the term smog. The recent phenomenon of fund rising on television that feels like a marathon, is typically called a telethon, and if you´re extremely crazy about video, you may be called a videot.

What is Clipping?

Clipping is the process in which the element of reduction which is noticeable in blending is even more apparent. This occurs when a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter form, often in casual speech. For example, the term gasoline is still in use but the term gas, the clipped form is used more frequently. Examples

• Chem.
• Gym
• Math
• Prof
• Typo

What is Backformation?

Backformation is a very specialized type of reduction process. Typically a word of one type, usually noun, is reduced to form another word of a different type, usually verb. A good example of backformation is the process whereby the noun television first came into ude and then the term televise is created form it.

More examples:

• Donation – Donate
• Option – Opt
• Emotion – Emote
• Enthusiasm – Enthuse
• Babysit – Babysitter

What is Conversion?

Conversion is a change in the function of a word, as for example, when a noun comes to be used as a verb without any reduction. Other labels of this very common process are “category change” and “functional shift”. A number of nouns such as paper, butter, bottle, vacation and so on, can via the process of conversion come to be used as verbs as in the following examples:

• My brother is papering my bedroom.
• Did you buttered this toast?
• We bottled the home brew last night.

What is an Acronym?

Some new words known as acronyms are formed with the initial letters of a set of other words. Examples:

• Compact Disk – CD
• Video Cassette Recorder – VCR
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO
• Personal Identification Number –PIN
• Women against rape – WAR

What is Derivation?

Derivation is the most common word formation process and it accomplished by means of a large number of small bits of the English language which are not usually given separate listings in dictionaries. These small bits are called affixes. Examples:

• Unhappy
• Misrepresent
• Prejudge
• Joyful
• Careless
• Happiness

Prefixes and Suffixes

In the preceding group of words, it should be obvious that some affixes have to be added to the beginning of a word. These are called prefixes: unreliable. The other affix forms are called suffixes and are added at the end of the word: foolishness.

Infixes

One of the characteristics of English words is that any modifications to them occur at the beginning or the end; mix can have something added at the beginning re-mix or at the end, mixes, mixer, but never in the middle, called infixes.

Activities – WORDS AND WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

Activity 1

Identify the word formation process involved in the following sentences:

1. My little cousin wants to be a footballer
2. Rebecca parties every weekend
3. I will have a croissant for breakfast.
4. Does somebody know where is my bra?
5. My family is vacationing in New Zealand
6. I will babysit my little sister this weekend
7. Would you give me your blackberry PIN?
8. She seems really unhappy about her parents’ decision.
9. I always have kleenex in my car.

10.  A carjacking was reported this evening.

(To check your answers, please go to home and check the link: Activities Keyword)

*You may require checking other sources

Scientists are big into molecular compounds, and there is something kind of magical about them. You can start with a couple of atoms of hydrogen, add another atom of oxygen, and bada bing: water. Two distinct elements come together to create something entirely different.

It’s exactly the same with words. Well, maybe not exactly the same, but English is such a flexible, creative language that it’s filled with compound words—and new ones are popping up all the time to suit our ever-changing world. Some useful compound words recently added to Merriam-Webster are clickbait, photobomb, binge-watch, humblebrag, and spit-take.

So what is a compound word? How do you know whether it should be a closed compound, a hyphenated compound, or an open compound? What about compound sentences? We’ll look at all of these in this post.
 

When two (or occasionally, three) words work together to express a single idea, that’s a compound word. Compound words can be open, closed, or hyphenated, and they can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. English is full of preexisting compound words—or you can make up your own to suit the situation.

No one at the Star Trek convention really appreciated my Klingon-librarian costume.

The lung-collapsing dead-flower stench of my aunt Penelope’s perfume was headache-inducingly strong.

What is an open compound word?

An open compound word is two separate words (without even a hyphen to link them) functioning as a single idea.

When we were in high school, we regularly ate French fries, hot dogs, and ice cream with peanut butter as an afterschool snack.

What is a hyphenated compound word?

A hyphenated compound word is a term composed of two (or more) words connected by a hyphen. Like other compound words, a hyphenated compound can be a noun, adjective, or adverb.

The gun-toting, card-carrying FBI agent hid her angst well.

What is a closed compound word?

A closed compound word is a single word constructed of two or more other words. Most closed compound words were once open or hyphenated, but continued use solidified them—made them a single unit. Today’s open or hyphenated compounds are tomorrow’s closed compounds.

The moonlight coming through my bedroom window is so bright it outshines my flashlight.

Every afternoon, she wrote another story in her notebook; my favorite is the one about the starfish who loved rainbows and strawberries.

How do you know whether a compound word is open, hyphenated, or closed?

There’s really no trick to this! You look it up in a dictionary (like Merriam-Webster). Compound words evolve over time, so what was once black-bird is now blackbird, and what was once a web site is now almost always a website.

Don’t worry if you find dictionaries contradicting each other! Not every dictionary agrees on which compounds are open, hyphenated, or closed. Some offer health care and voice mail, for example, as two words, but others hyphenate or close those same compounds. In such cases, you’re free to use the spelling you prefer, except if you’re supposed to be following a particular style guide.

For example, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) says that when a compound modifier comes before a noun, it’s never wrong to hyphenate it, since it can aid readability.

The seventy-year-old professor despaired for the dull-witted students in her late-afternoon class.

But (Chicago goes on to say) when compound modifiers follow the noun, leave them unhyphenated (even if they’re hyphenated in the dictionary).

The professor, who was almost seventy years old, couldn’t understand why her students were so dull witted by late afternoon.

What is a compound noun?

Compound words can be nouns, adjectives, adverbs—and even verbs (like pole-vault or double-click). In each case, they can be open, hyphenated, or closed. Compound nouns are perhaps the most common type of compound word. Here are some examples of compound nouns (some closed, some open, some hyphenated).

Susan’s grandmother, my mother-in-law, had a skylight above the bookcase in her living room that let in rainwater.

Watch out for the sometimes-unusual plurals of hyphenated compound nouns.

The workmen fixing the two merry-go-rounds in the local park typically catcalled all passersby, but they stopped once our attorneys-at-law sent them a warning.

What is a compound name?

A compound name is essentially a compound proper noun—a multiword term (often an open compound, though not always) that names a single entity.

Like Popeye, Black Panther gets at least some of his powers from eating his greens—in his case, the heart-shaped herb. But I bet Superman liked Cheez-Its better.

What’s important here is that these proper nouns are always preexisting compounds, so if you’re turning an open compound name into part of a compound modifier (see more about compound adjectives and adverbs below), you’ll need to use an en dash rather than a hyphen.

My new World War I–era cloche didn’t really go with anything in my New York–style wardrobe, so naturally I had to go shopping.

 

 

What is a compound adjective?

A compound adjective is a single adjective made up of more than one word—and it’s often a compound noun (or even compound name) being used to modify another noun. According to CMoS, it’s never wrong to hyphenate multiword adjectives when they precede a noun, even if they’re familiar open compounds like high school.

High-school students often have more brain-draining homework than college students.

My silly-voiced sister found her calling in advertising.

When a compound name functions as an adjective, there’s no need for a hyphen.

Penny was thrilled to win Dolly Parton tickets.

The Los Angeles weather is typically hot and sunny.

As touched on above, when a compound adjective follows a noun, the hyphen is usually not necessary.

Georgia is a well-read academic.

Georgia is well read.

I found a useful list of low-calorie cocktails.

I found a useful list of cocktails, all of them low calorie.

Remember that compound adjectives made from an adverb ending in –ly plus an adjective are never hyphenated. The -ly is enough of a signal that what follows is meant to be read together with the preceding word.

Sarah’s short-tempered grandfather griped about her recital, calling it a really dull concert.

Sarah’s grandfather, always short tempered, griped about her recital, describing it as really dull.

What is a compound adverb?

A compound adverb looks like a single word but (closely examined) is actually made up of two or more words working together to function as a single adverb. They’re often rather old fashioned, and they can sound stuffy and pompous so are best used sparingly: notwithstanding, nevertheless, heretofore, albeit, and so on.

Phrasal adverbs are very similar to compound adverbs, and they’re rather more useful.

I scattered rose petals here and there.

The newly married couple walked arm in arm.

Joseph goes running every day.

What is a compound sentence?

And here’s the bonus section (because the last thing we want to do is compound anyone’s confusion about compounds)!

Compound sentences are grammatically unrelated to compound words, but that still doesn’t answer the key question: What is a compound sentence? A compound sentence is when two or more independent clauses, each with its own subject and verb plus attendant objects and phrases, are joined with a coordinating conjunction (one of the FANBOYS: for, and, nor but, or, yet, so). Here, the key thing to remember is to always include a comma after the first independent clause and before the conjunction.

I read this blog post about compound words, but they didn’t explain about compound sentences, so I had to keep on searching.

My son’s story about the strawberry-loving starfish was really cute, so I sent it to my sister, and she loved it too.