Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1955
Muppet
marionette puppet
- Meaning
- A character of a Jim Henson-style foam-and-rod puppet; informally, a fool.
- Source words
- marionette + puppet
- Coined by
- Jim Henson
- Year
- 1955
Background
Henson said in later interviews that the blend was a joke he made up long after the fact — the word had come to him in one piece. Either way, *marionette* + *puppet* is the generally accepted analysis. The British slang sense ("what a muppet") is 1980s.
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
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