A snowstorm (in the Northeastern U.S.) in October, bringing with it the inevitable portmanteau, as in this CBS news report from two days ago:
Octsnowber? Fall snow storm threatens Northeast
A substitution portmanteau, with the substitution in the interior of the host word: /sno/ (spelled SNOW) for /o/ (spelled O). Substitutions are most commonly at the beginning or end of the word, but this one’s in the middle, involving the accented syllable.
October 30, 2011 at 8:42 pm |
Steve Kleinedler brought to my attention a slideshow on Philly.com that was titled “Snowctober” (!), but it has since been retitled to the more sensible “Snowtober.” (“Snowctober” still lingers in the URL.)
October 30, 2011 at 8:45 pm |
(And for more on sandwich blending, see my Jan. ’06 Language Log post.)
October 31, 2011 at 11:59 am |
On the Atlantic Wire’s Cliche Watch, Eric Randall’s got the story on Snowtober vs. Snoctober.
March 10, 2012 at 5:03 pm |
[…] In the portmantradition of Shirtoberfest (here) and Snow(c)tober (here). […]
October 27, 2012 at 6:20 am |
[…] Inevitable portmanteau (link): Octsnowber; in comments, Snowctober, […]