Don’t know who thought of it first, but it’s certainly been propagated by NewScientist — print story on June 23rd; on-line story on the 19th:
Higgsteria rising as trouble brews for standard model
Excitement about the Higgs boson is ramping up ahead of a hotly anticipated conference in Australia next month. But even if last year’s tentative signals of the particle are confirmed, a fresh analysis of data from a particle accelerator in California suggests that this may not complete the standard model of physics.
A portmanteau of Higgs and hysteria. What happens when theoretical physicists get excited.
The word has been picked up enthusiastically by other science sites.
June 25, 2012 at 4:15 am |
Usually when theoretical physicists get excited they move to a different state.
June 30, 2012 at 4:49 pm |
[…] hysteria words. Recently on this blog, Higgsteria (Higgs + hysteria). There are more, including massteria from The Music Man: Shameless […]
July 17, 2012 at 7:47 am |
[…] world of portmanteaus is crowded with playful formations that are unlikely to survive for long (Higgsteria), including many that are just for ostentatious display (Piranhaconda and Sharktopus). Then there […]
October 23, 2012 at 8:45 am |
[…] These go along with the Higgsteria reported on here. […]
January 9, 2013 at 9:47 am |
[…] world of portmanteaus is crowded with playful formations that are unlikely to survive for long (Higgsteria), including many that are just for ostentatious display (Piranhaconda and Sharktopus). Then there […]