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Junior Member
posted
What is this business of tacking 'aholic' on to a noun to mean addict?

If an alcoholic is one addicted to drink, surely your high flying City man is a 'Workic', and your sweetie gobbling obese is a chocic?

Or conversely, should the drink one be 'alcoholaholic'? And in any case, why is it 'aholic' and not 'oholic'?
 
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<Asa Lovejoy>
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I'm not sure that I follow you entirely, but I agree that it sems odd that we use part of the word, alcohol in order to form the various spin-off terms.
 
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quote:
And in any case, why is it 'aholic' and not 'oholic'?


But it's a chocOholic, isn't it? Since it's chocOlate...

A subject dear to my heart! (chocolate, that is!)

Ros
 
Posts: 185 | Location: London, UKReply With QuoteReport This Post
<Asa Lovejoy>
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A subject dear to my heart! (chocolate, that is!)
=========================================
And waist, and hips, and thighs and... Wink

Ah, yes, chocaholism isn't exclusively a woman's addiction!
 
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Picture of BobHale
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The word "alocoholic" being incorrectly divided to create a suffix for "chocoholic", "workaholic" and so on isn't unique.

After all the word "hamburger" derives not from the word "ham" but the word "Hamburg" so a cheeseburger should derive from cheeseburg, a chickenburger from chickenburg and so on.

Can anyone think of more examples of "bad" derivations of suffixes or stems ?

Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.

Read all about my travels around the world here.
Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.
 
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Picture of Richard English
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Toy library (unless it means a model of a library, of course)

Richard English
 
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UKReply With QuoteReport This Post
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"A subject dear to my heart! (chocolate, that is!)" You and me both, Ros!

And Bob Hale said: "After all the word "hamburger" derives not from the word "ham" but the word "Hamburg" so a cheeseburger should derive from cheeseburg, a chickenburger from chickenburg and so on."

But, Bob, as previously discussed, a hamburger is derived from the town of Hamburg (not word "hamburg") that claims the origin of it!
 
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Picture of C J Strolin
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If most parents can't tell you that "colic" is defined as "the severe abdominal pain caused by spasm, obstruction, or distention of any of the hollow viscera such as the intestines," they probably could tell you that a 3 a.m. colicky baby is one of life's special joys.

Might an infant who seems addicted to this particular malady be considered a "colicaholic"?? I say yes, if for no other reason than I like the way the word sounds. (Yet another entry for my updated OED!)
 
Posts: 1517 | Location: Illinois, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
Can anyone think of more examples of "bad" derivations of suffixes or stems ?



What about the -gate usage? First we had Watergate, but then we had Camillagate, Cheriegate etc.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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Good one, Paul. In trying to find a Web site with "gate" words, I came acoss this:

"This is a familiar progression: the rash of '-gate' words spawned by the Watergate scandal (Irangate, Contragate and so on) finally reached its logical conclusion when Oliver North faced allegations of using public money to pay for a security gate at his own home – a cause célèbre that became known as 'Gategate'."

The entire article discusses "linguistic inventiveness" and is interesting. The "new black"?
 
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Picture of C J Strolin
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While I haven't heard them in some time, "-nik" words were popular for a while. The Russian satellite "Sputnik" prompted "beatnik," "peace-nik," "no-good-nik" (a favorite) and many others.


Might a person who enjoys eating meals outdoors sitting on a blanket spread over the ground be known as a "picnic-nik"?

(No, I suppose not...)
 
Posts: 1517 | Location: Illinois, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
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