#CutthroatCompounds
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e-briannica.bsky.social
My profession is #TechnicalEditing, my special interest is #HistoricalLinguistics. I deeply love #CompoundMorphology and #ReferenceWorks and I'm always hunting for new #CutthroatCompounds.

I am a part of many wonderful organizations: #Wordnik, #OddSalon, #ACES, #DSNA, #ADS, and #NPL.
November 17, 2024 at 3:55 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
I'm cited on Wiktionary?! That's so cool. And in the same breath as my beloved cranberry morphemes? A dream. en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cutthro... The thesis was from 2012, but who's counting. #CutthroatCompounds
An excerpt from the Wiktionary page for cutthroat compounds that says "Coined by editor and linguist Brianne Hughes in 2015, as cutthroat is an example of the class of compound words."
September 2, 2025 at 5:33 PM
e-briannica.bsky.social
And the pinball people told me about pinside.com and ipdb.com, and now I've found more #CutthroatCompounds! ROLL-IT WHIP-IT, WHIRL-IT, MATCH-IT, HIT-IT (all 1930s), NUDGE-IT (1990) In flipperless machines, "tilt"ing the game was necessary. What a day! www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?...
The backglass for the pinball machine Nudge-It, a gold mining themed game. A list of pinball games that end in -It. Most are from 1930s except NIP-IT from 1973, and NUDGE-IT from 1990.
November 16, 2025 at 5:43 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
I'm trying to figure out how old some law firm jokes are: "The offices of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe", "...Dewey, Screwem, and Howe" and in England "...Sue, Grabbit, and Run". All 20th century, but not sure when. Some cite Three Stooges for Dewey Cheatum and Howe. #AmResearching #CutthroatCompounds
January 19, 2025 at 4:57 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
#EndOf2024Countdown: This month I'm gonna look back at the modern #CutthroatCompounds - the ones that have in 1990 or sooner. I've found 141 candidates. Some are hard to confirm if they are really [V+N(direct object], and some may be older, which I will some day antedate. 1/?
An excerpt of a large spreadsheet of cutthroat compounds. This shows 11 examples from 1990 to 1999 - Sally Save-Water (mascot for California drought) to Lube It! USA (a business in Oregon).
December 2, 2024 at 9:14 PM
e-briannica.bsky.social
23 new potential #CutthroatCompounds in a day?! There are 4 I'm unsure about (in red), but worth including to research more in the future. (Current list now has 1554 cutthroats.)
A spreadsheet excerpt of 23 potential cutthroats that are all names of pinball machines.
November 16, 2025 at 7:18 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
Just got an instagram ad for WARMHER (2024), a fanny pack massage and heating pad. I already have BOB HER (1702, a game) and STROKEHER (1332, a surname) on my big #CutthroatCompounds list. #AmResearching
An instagram ad for warm her: a period cramp heat and massage device that fits around the midsection.
January 23, 2025 at 5:46 PM
hugovk.dev
cc @e-briannica.bsky.social, collector of #CutthroatCompounds, for torchecul and wipe-breeches, I think they're "new" ^

www.encyclopediabriannica.com?p=57

books.google.com/books?id=CWA...
What Are Cutthroat Compounds?
Cutthroats are compounds that name people and things by describing what they do. Cutthroats are made from a transitive verb and a noun, where the noun is the direct object of the verb. Cutthroats a…
www.encyclopediabriannica.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:20 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
Shocked that I've already found more #cutthroatcompounds from 2000-2026 than from the 1600-1650, its most productive time til now, when many dictionaries were published. It's easier to find insignificant current examples by walking around than by researching 500-year old ones, but still surprising.
A graph showing the productivity of cutthroats by 50 year increments since 1050. 2000-2049 has the most with 216 vs 200 from 1600 to 1650. The previously most productive time for cutthroat compounds was the 1600s - this graph shows that bubble and example words like spitfire, rotgut, and scarecrow from the time. The 2000s have already surpassed it in 26 years.
June 2, 2026 at 6:51 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
Played the new roguelike Plinko game Plinbo this weekend and discovered the DRIFTLEFT and DRIFTRIGHT balls, which are more likely to drop to the left or right (respectively) than a standard ball - therefore more likely to fall into outer slots with higher multipliers. #CutthroatCompounds
A screenshot from the game Plinbo at the ball shop - one of the two options is the Driftleft Ball with the description "Chance to go left +15%" A screenshot from the game Plinbo showing the triangular shape, with two balls approaching the bottom slots - 0.2x multiplier in the middle, 10x muliplier on the far left and right sides.
February 11, 2026 at 8:03 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
Just learned about KNEEL-IT products. Unfortunately, I think it's an IT thing for kneeling, because the thing doesn't kneel, you do, but more comfortably. It doesn't kneel it. I don't think kneel can be transitive here. kneelit.com #CutthroatCompounds #AmResearching
The product page for Kneel-It Rolling kneepads kneeling chair v3. A picture of the black and lime green device is to the left of the title.
May 20, 2025 at 2:42 AM
e-briannica.bsky.social
#Endof2024Countdown #CutthroatCompounds continued... LUBE-IT USA is an oil change service shop in Eugene, Oregon. Now I've found LUBE-IT variants in Utah and New Jersey. Actually, the Utah one is older (1993) and New Jersey one says "for over 20 years." Antedating businesses is tough. 6/?
Lube-It USA 10 miute oil change and carwash logo and building image from Eugene Oregon Lube-It Express and Wash-it Express sign from Utah with a sign that says "Thank you Moab for 25 years" The sign and building for the Lube It Fill business in New Jersey "10 minute oil change - discount tires"
May 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM