A WORD

OPINION

Sixteen readers voted in our first A Word Poll to define the made-up noun “sneezespicion.”

Let the trumpet sound for reader Linda Hastings Baker, who suggested our winner: “a self-perceived threat, real or imagined, of exposure to a communicable disease such as covid-19 or the flu when within aural range or the physical space of an actual sneeze.”

What will this week’s game be? Well, it won’t be making up a definition for “eligent.” (Reader Jessie Burchfield reports that it already means “eligible and intelligent.” Her daughter coined it years ago when Burchfield explained why she wasn’t dating post-divorce. Later she met an eligent guy and married him.)

But did you notice the fancy word “persiflage” in Bob Goldman’s humor column today? Persiflage means light banter, raillery. From -flage to -fluge isn’t much of a leap. What might “persifluge” mean?

It looks like a verb to me. Please make up a definition for persifluge.