We love our portmanteau words here at Salt in Wound. But with great power comes great responsibility. So I believe we must also serve as Portmanteau Police, seeking out infractions of the form.
Case in point: A radio commercial for the Subaru Forester that I’m guessing is not airing in the greater Topanga area. The voice talent mentions that the vehicle is “perfect for snow and mud, or the very common smud.”
Oh, sure, “smud” is fun to say, and calls to mind “smog” (smoke + fog), which I think they do have in the greater Topanga area. But it places entirely too much emphasis on the mud half of the equation. No, the word that should’ve been used in this instance is snud.
And I’m sure William Safire agrees with me.
Jack Silbert, curator