(had to dig out a dictionary :/) According to OED (oxford english dictionary) a portmanteau is:
"A word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings. Also more generally: a term or phrase which encompasses two or more meanings."
The key conditions here (each of which must be satisfied) are:
- constituents must be words
- blending sounds from the words
- combining meanings of the words
"blending sounds from two or more distinct words"
(note emphasis)
The word "brunch" is widely regarded to be a portmanteau, and does not consist of whole words.
This satisfies the 3 conditions:
- constituents must be words
"brunch" is a combination of "breakfast" and "lunch"
- blending sounds from the words
the beginning sounds like "breakfast" and the end sounds like "lunch"
- combining meanings of the words
described above.
-Constituents must be words
"cartelicious" is a combination of "cartel" and "delicious"
-Blending sounds from the words
the beginning sounds like "cartel" and the end sounds like "delicious"
-Combining meanings of the words
It's delicious cartel action, for repugnant values of delicious. I don't think this one is a strict requirement, in any case. This is getting a bit too pedantic.
Let's all agree that, before saying something like "a portmanteau, if you want to get technical", you are 100% sure that it is correct. Maybe that should be in the HN guidelines ...
I only brought up this issue because technically it's not a portmanteau (at least according to how OED and a bunch of other dictionaries define the word), and probably wouldn't have made a remark if the phrase "if you want to get technical" wasn't used ...
I lay down my guns ... now