What's In Your Portmanteau? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Labradoodle

Labradoodles can vary in their appearance, depending on which side of the family they favor, are easily trained and have low-allergy coats; they're often used as guide dogs. Poodles are also bred with other dogs to form portmanteau names. When bred with Schnauzers, they're called Schnoodles; with Pekingese, they're Pekipoos; and with Cocker Spaniels, they're Cockapoos or Spoodles.

Answer: blog

"Blog", a blend of the words "web" and "log", is a web page where someone (a "blogger") can share their opinions, experiences, and even photos, in an ongoing journal. Other words created from "blog" include blogging (writing a blog), blogosphere (the blogging community), photoblog (a blog with less text and more photos, aka a phlog) and vlog (video blog).

Answer: celebutante

"Celebutante", a combination of "celebrity" and "debutante", was first used in 1939 (reportedly by Walter Winchell) to describe debutante Brenda Frazier, whose debut in 1938 was widely covered by the press. Also fitting the title of "celebutante" are Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and Nicole Richie.

Answer: Eyeliner worn by guys

Take a guy, put on some eyeliner, and you've got guyliner. Notable guyliner wearers include Capt. Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies), musician Pete Wentz and comedian Russell Brand. And guys, when you buy your guyliner, don't forget your "manscara" ("man" plus "mascara")!

Answer: Muppet

Jim Henson first began creating Muppets in the 1950s, but they weren't well known until they became part of the children's television series "Sesame Street", which premiered in 1969. For years he explained that the term "Muppet" came from "marionette" and "puppet", but in a 1983 interview Jim Henson said "Muppet" was just a word they had come up with.

Answer: calm down, unwind, be cool

"Chill" (or "chill out") is combined with "relax" to form "chillax". Since "chill out" and "relax" essentially mean the same thing, this almost sounds like one of those occasions where your brain can't decide which word to use so it combines them. Either that or you *really* want to emphasize what you're saying.

Answer: Tanzania

Tanganyika and Zanzibar, located on the eastern coast of Africa, each became independent from Britain in the early 1960s. They united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was later renamed as a combination of the two, the United Republic of Tanzania.

Answer: rocketry

A combination of the words "liquid" and "oxygen", Lox is a cryogenic propellant which needs to be kept at about minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit in order to remain in a liquid state. Lox is used in combination with liquid hydrogen for the most part, and was used in various stages of NASA's Saturn rocket.

The Lox/liquid hydrogen combination, stored in the external fuel tank, is used for the main engines on the space shuttles, as well as for the fuel cells.

Answer: dictionary

Pictionary is a board game which first came out in the mid 1980s. As each team of players moves along the board, they draw cards with a word on them. One person must draw a picture and the word must be guessed either by their own team, or by anyone. There was also a short-lived TV game show with the same name, as well as the show "Win, Lose or Draw", hosted by Bert Convy, which had the same premise.

Answer: ecotecture

A blend of "eco" (short for ecology) and "architecture", "ecotecture" defines the concept of designing and building in a sustainable manner. This includes using alternate sources of energy for heating and cooling (solar, wind turbines) as well as using environmentally-friendly materials and/or recycled materials so as to have a less harmful impact on the environment.

Answer: chuckle and snort

Under the pen name Lewis Carroll, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's works included "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There". In the latter book is the nonsense poem called "Jabberwocky" which contains many portmanteau words. Carroll had Humpty Dumpty explain to Alice the meaning of some of these words in the book, "Well, "slithy" means "lithe and slimy". "Lithe" is the same as "active". You see it's like a portmanteau - there are two meanings packed up into one word." A portmanteau is a type of suitcase, popular in the 19th century, which had two hinged compartments.

Answer: Super Troopers

A combination of "biographical" and "motion picture" (or just "picture"), a biopic is a film based on the life of an actual person. "Catch Me If You Can" tells of Frank Abagnale, Jr.'s life of crime, "Man on the Moon" tells about Andy Kaufman, and "Immortal Beloved" covers part of Ludwig van Beethoven's life. "Super Troopers" is about a mischievous group of fictional state troopers.

Answer: Rockabilly

"Rockabilly" is a mixture of "rock 'n' roll" and "hillbilly" ("hillbilly" is how country music was often referred to in the 1950s). Other rockabilly artists include Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Haley. Rockabilly music experienced a revival in the late 1970s and early 1980s with groups like Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Stray Cats and Dave Edmunds. Well-known songs in the genre include "Blue Suede Shoes", "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and "Rock This Town".

Answer: terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in 2003. The term "Governator" combined "governor" with "terminator" in reference to one of his more memorable movie roles. In "The Terminator", Schwarzenegger played the title role of a seemingly indestructible cyborg intent on killing the woman who would become the mother of the future human leader.

Answer: television

Televangelists conduct their ministries, for the most part, strictly via television shows, although some do have their own local congregations. The ability to reach a much larger audience to preach the gospel attracts ministers to televangelism. Some well-known televangelists are Pat Robertson, Robert H. Schuller, Billy Graham, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and Jack Van Impe.

Answer: capsule and tablet

A "caplet" is a combination of "capsule" and "tablet" both physically and literally. It is a coated, capsule-shaped tablet which is tamper resistant. Caplets were introduced after seven people in Illinois died in 1982 from tainted Tylenol pain relief capsules, also prompting the creation of tamper-evident packaging.

Answer: A person who presents, or provides commentary for, sporting events.

"Sportscaster" is a portmanteau word made from "sports" and "broadcaster". Also known as sports commentators, sports presenters, and sports announcers, sportscasters can be what is known as a play-by-play announcer (someone with broadcasting experience), or a color commentator (usually a veteran of the sport being commentated on).

Answer: drama

"Drama" plus "comedy" becomes a "dramedy", a show which includes funny moments for its characters, and also has them in dramatic situations. Examples of dramedies include "Rescue Me", "Shameless", "Freaks and Geeks" and "Californication" (itself a portmanteau of "California" and "fornication").

Answer: biological and chronicle

In "Bionicle Heroes", players must control the Toa to battle the Piraka for the Mask of Life. The game was released in November 2006 for most game platforms, and in 2007 for Nintendo Wii. Lego's Bionicle franchise includes toys, books, movies and comic books.

Answer: economics

The term "Reaganomics" was applied to US President Ronald Reagan's economic policies, namely fewer taxes and less government regulation of businesses. These principles were partially based on trickle down, or supply side economics. The origin of the word has been attributed to legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey.