Like many writers, I follow (and occasionally participate in) contests and humour websites devoted to new words. These activities are all good fun, but such games don’t blunt my desire to create an actual bona fide word that makes it into common parlance.
I have long dreamed of coining a new term that seeps into general conversation. The Flatte Project is my attempt to realize that dream.
So, to definitions:
flatte |ˈfläˌtā| noun : a decaffeinated latte
The construction is similar to “blog” – the last letter of a two-word phrase (“web log”) coupled with the full second word. In my case, “decaf latte” becomes “flatte.”
The case for flatte:
1. It’s a single, short word for a common item for which there is no existing term.
2. Pronounced correctly it is descriptive of the product – a latte will wake you up, but a flatte will leave you flat.
4. It has memetic staying power, at least with me. I really have come to think of decaf lattes as flattes. Of all my coinage attempts, this one that sticks.
I hope that you will consider incorporating “flatte” into your day-to-day interactions. Please help me spread the word.
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i can so make this happen for you! starting tomorrow!
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3. There is no number 3. Flatte is still an excellent neologism.
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