Friday 24 June 2016

Breferemdum: A Comprehensive List of Media Buzzword Portmanteau for Future EU Referenda.

In light of the "Brexit"—Britain's referendum to leave the European Union—I've concocted a handy go-to reference for all your future portmanteau buzzword needs. Because any profit-turning media organisation has a penchant for portmanteau. Just like celebrity power couples, it doesn't make sense to the senseless hordes unless we take two existing words and smash them together in a cringe-inducing manner.

So the following contains many original "exitisms" for when you just can't find a word short enough for "[insert EU country here]'s proposal to leave the EU." These are organised into The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good: The words that sound great, feel great, and can be just dropped into conversation at your pretentious cocktail parties like you've used them all your life.
- Brexit* - United Kingdom
- Grexit* - Greece
- Czexit* - Czech Republic
- Frexit* - France
- Spexit - Spain
- Nexit - The Netherlands
- Luxit - Luxembourg
- Swexit - Sweden
- Fixit - Finland
- Laxit - Latvia
- Lixit - Lithuania

The Bad: While not tounge-twisters in their own right, these mashups just don't have that great mouthfeel—to borrow wine terminology. The $10-15 bottle so to speak.
- Gexit (pronounced with a soft G) - Germany
- Poxit - Poland
- Dexit* (I feel as if this one has already been coined—Denmark is quite Eurosceptic) - Denmark
- Bexit - Belgium
- Exit (highly original of course) - Estonia
- Auxit - Austria
- Huxit - Hungary
- Roxit (pronounced with a long O) - Romania
- Buxit (pronounced with a short U) - Bulgaria
- Maxit - Malta
- Croxit - Croatia
- Slexit (or Slovaxit) - Slovakia

The Ugly: No, just no... Any journalist that dare to use these should be fired—immediately. Or just go work for Fox News.
- Irexit - Ireland
- Itexit - Italy
- Cyxit - Cyprus
- Porxit - Portugal


*Note these are not original coinages, and as far I am aware have already entered the cheese-filled world of journalistic buzzwordery.

———————————————————————————————————————— "... we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever in peace." —W. M. Hicks.

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