(Photo by lrargerich)
New words are always being added to the English language. Recently there’s been a trend of making a new word by combining two existing words.
This morning I heard the word flightmare for the first time! I was watching the news on TV, and a reporter used the word to describe a JetBlue (an American airline) flight from Florida to New Jersey. The plane had been forced to land in Connecticut because of bad weather. The passengers were stuck on the plane for 7 hours! They had no food or water, they couldn’t use the toilets on the plane AND they weren’t allowed to get off the plane! What a flightmare!
A flight – an airplane trip
A nightmare – it usually means a bad dream, but in this context it is a scary, upsetting, or unpleasant experience
‘Flight’ rhymes with ‘night’, so add the two words together and you get flightmare!
A flightmare – a nightmare flight; a horrible experience on a plane trip
Example Sentences:
A 16-hour Flightmare! (New York Post)
Travellers Face Flightmare Thanks to Hurricane Irene (Fox News)
That was such a flightmare! I had to sit next to a crying baby for 7 hours!
Have you ever a flightmare?
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
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