Something to do while quarantined

Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, said he had a secret source for the variety of new words he came up like “grinch,” “punkerish” and ‘flubbulous.”

He visited an Alpine village called Uber Gletch and listened to the odd words the townspeople uttered.

Ralph Keyes, well-known as a children’s author, has just published “The Hidden History of Coined Words.” He explained the origin of Seuss’s delightful sounds that bounce off the ancient pages of children’s stories that are still best sellers.

In the computing world, “hardware” and “software” appeared in the early 1950s.

Some word inventors wish they hadn’t dreamed up a word or phrase. Alan Greenspan wished he’d never spoken of “irrational exuberance.”

I was delighted when a reader sent me more than a dozen words he had cleverly coined.

I use my six-pound dictionary as a base source for new words. For example:

Platune: A dull, uninteresting song.

Joglakarta: An Indonesian city where running exercise is encouraged.

Bridalpath: A sure-fire route toward early marriage.

Abutment: A special room in a gym to develop one’s body backside.

Abacus: Swearing at a device for solving math problems.

Artefact: The opposite of artefake.

Disbar: A drinking establishment closed because of the virus.

Hallowienie: Something to snack on while trick or treating.

Makeup: A lipstick designed to reunite two lovers who previously broke up.

Rummage: An alcoholic drink reserved for elderly people.

Testimoney: A payment to encourage a witness to lie on the stand.

Toboggan: A sled that always gets stuck in the snow.

Insurgent: A well-dressed, perfectly polite man.