Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2008
Mansplain
man explain
- Meaning
- When a man explains something condescendingly, often to a woman who knows more about it.
- Source words
- man + explain
- Coined by
- collective (post-Solnit essay)
- Year
- 2008
Background
Rebecca Solnit's 2008 essay *Men Explain Things to Me* described the phenomenon; the portmanteau crystallised in LiveJournal feminist communities within months. Added to OED in 2018.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
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