{"id":1599813,"date":"2025-11-27T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1599813"},"modified":"2025-11-13T07:34:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:34:59","slug":"wicked-why-fictional-words-cast-such-a-spell-on-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/11\/wicked-why-fictional-words-cast-such-a-spell-on-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Defying Definition: Why Fictional Words Cast Such a Spell On Us"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sniglets in the BFG include \u201cscrumdiddlyumptious,\u201d \u201cwhizzpopper\u201d and \u201ctrogglehumper.\u201d Courtesy Disney and Amblin Entertainment<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have you ever felt \u201cdisgustikafied,\u201d been branded a \u201crampallion\u201d or had a \u201cfrabjous\u201d day? Or are you totally, utterly and \u201ccompletriciously\u201d confused by these questions? If so, it\u2019s time to brush up on the art of made-up words, because Wicked: For Good<\/i> is about to bring this brand of delightfully tongue-twisting dialogue back to the big screen.<\/p>\n

From \u201cscandalacious\u201d and \u201cdecipherate\u201d to \u201chideoteous,\u201d the musical sequel will weave dozens of nonsensical words into its script\u2014expressions that may raise our eyebrows and prick up our ears but will also spark the creative centers of our brains. And this tradition is far from new. Invented words have been a feature of novels, plays and poems for centuries, crafted to charm and challenge audiences in equal multisyllabic measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cMade-up words\u2014sometimes called sniglets\u2014are one of the most fun parts of language,\u201d says Adele Goldberg, linguist and professor of psychology at Princeton University. \u201cCoining a new word can create a kind of secret handshake\u2014a sense of shared intimacy. Of course, the trick is that new words only work if people understand them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wicked,<\/i> in turn, understands this caveat. Words like \u201cgratitution\u201d and \u201cprivishly\u201d may be invented, yet there\u2019s still a certain sense to their nonsense. Each Wicked<\/i> word has an identifiable root, with the added suffixes serving simply as fantastical flourishes. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a certain playfulness to drawing out or reshaping familiar expressions,\u201d Goldberg adds, citing \u201ccutie-patootie\u201d as a prime example. \u201cWicked\u2019s<\/i> oddball coinages seem to make use of that. They\u2019re absurd, but joyfully so.\u201d<\/p>\n

This too is an age-old approach. Shakespeare, for example, coined \u201cbrabble\u201d by splicing together parts of \u201cbicker\u201d and \u201csquabble.\u201d This seems almost like cheating\u2014creating a new word from concepts that already fit together, thus sparing the audience any heavy linguistic lifting. But many modern examples follow the same pattern: \u201changry,\u201d \u201csmog\u201d and \u201cbrunch\u201d sound so natural and catch on so quickly because they blend familiar ideas in a concise way. \u201cThey often feel witty because they capture something that\u2019s been hiding in plain sight,\u201d explains Goldberg. \u201cAnd that same wink of familiarity can come from twisting an old word into a new use\u2014say, Wicked<\/i> \u2018out-snigletted\u2019 itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Lupyan, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, also emphasizes the importance of context in understanding hitherto unseen words. \u201cWords like \u2018horrendible\u2019 in Wicked,<\/i> by virtue of being so close to a conventional English word, can be understood when first encountered,\u201d he says. \u201cEspecially if they\u2019re also used in a context where one might expect a familiar word, such as \u2018horrible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In these cases, our brains process made-up words much like any other. Even unfamiliar words trigger associations with similar-sounding forms we already know. \u201cAnd many are portmanteaus,\u201d says Lupyan, \u201citself a word that Lewis Carroll co-opted to mean made up of two parts, like a portmanteau type of suitcase.\u201d<\/p>\n

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