Review: Mixtionary Targets Language-Loving Consumers

Vocabulary Humor Marred by Typos

When the VRP reeled in its first free book, I got excited. The publishers of Mixtionary: Mixed-up modern words for the mixed-up modern world sent me a complimentary copy for review, and when I got the little book in the mail, I was favorably impressed. Nicely produced, the Mixtionary's cover is colorful and the pages are glossy and thoroughly illustrated by comic artist Shawn McManus.

Next step: I started exploring the book's concept: fuse various words together to produce light-hearted new nouns and adjectives. This process is formally called "portmanteua" - the combination of sounds and meanings from two or more words to create a new one - and as an applied science, it's given us cultural gems like Brangelina and TomKat. (Insert sarcasm accordingly.) For what it's worth, Mixtionary is similar in tone to the publications where you'd expect such appellations to appear.

Galsheimers
Gals + alzheimers
Sin of sins! The phenomenon of a totally blank brain and forgetting the name of a girl you have had sex with.

However, I did find some amusing creations.

Bidiot
idiots + bid
People who pay far too much for junk sold on Ebay

Shoeism
shoe + ism
The very involved and complex devotion to fine footwear - which could segue into a new religion, as there certainly are enough devotees.

You get the idea. Unfortunately, Mixtionary was rife with typos - mostly omitted words - which struck me as very ironic, since the book's target audience will be language-loving types who will almost certainly notice the glaring lack of editorial control. Recommendation to Mia Christou, Scott Lobdell, and John Nee, the authors of Mixtionary: Edit the next edition carefully, and target a more discerning audience.

I suspect that the consumeristic, string-dating, media-obsessed audience that Mixtionary is apparently catering to will probably be in a movie theater or online dating site, not reading little books on vocab. However, you can visit the Official Site of Mixtionary, and offer your own suggestions for "new" words. Submit something to do with the obsessive love of books, I dare you! Mixtionary also has its own MySpace page.