Tampertrum and other new words

One of my students inadvertently invented a new word this week, and I love it.

It’s a single word to replace “temper tantrum.”

For example:

“Matt had a tampertrum when traitorous Tom Brady left New England for the awful stupid Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”

Pretty great. Right?

I’ll be using this word forever.

Years ago, while watching that same quarterback in Gillette Stadium, I invented a new word of my own:

Truché.

A portmanteau of the the words “true” and “touché.”

This word is used to acknowledge that not only was your opponent’s verbal counterattack effective, but it produced in a new level of knowledge or awareness in the process. Not only was your verbal attack effectively beaten back, but you are now wiser or better informed as a result.

My friend, Shep, uses it quite often, much to my delight. Perhaps someday, “tampertrum” and “truché” will enter the dictionary. Unlikely, I know, but words are invented all the time, and many eventually make it to the dictionary.

In 2020, “janky” was added to the dictionary, even though I’ve been using that word for years.

Other words added in 2020 that I adore are “zhuzh,” “ish,” and “nothingburger.”

“Swole” was also added in 2020, proving that stupid words can find their way into the dictionary, too.