4 Louise Pound 
words in which they are found; as the initial sqg- of squeeze, 
squelch, squirt, squirm, may unconsciously convey the idea of im- 
petus or motion, rather violent motion, perhaps. The final -sh of 
crush, crash, splash, wash, gush, dash, squash, mash, swash, etc., 
also suggests motion, in this case motion which is continuous, as 
symbolized by the final spirant. The factitious English and 
American sqush,? or squush, and the English squish, which have 
these sounds, may be direct blendings, the one of squeeze and crush, 
the other of squeeze and swish; but it seems more likely that they 
are indefinite or eclectic composites, which derive their suggestive 
power from the associations or symbolism of their prominent ele- 
ments. Squish is defined in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary 
as used in the sense of squeeze, squirt, squash, gush, mash, and 
these words, vaguely recollected, may well have entered into its 
composition. Similarly, take the case of the initial sn- of sniff, 
snout, snuff, sneeze, snore, etc., words associated with the nose, or 
the sense of smell. The fairly recent snuzzle, now admitted into 
the dictionaries, may be a combination of this sa- with the end- 
ing of nuzele, mussle, guzzle; although snuggle might be solved as 
a direct blend of snuff and nuzzle; or merely as the latter word 
with adscititious initial s. The factitious slosh, also admitted to 
the dictionaries, gains probably from the associations or symbolism 
of the group slush, gush, wash, splash, etc. The occasionally ap- 
pearing squdged,* or squudged, implies squeeze, crush, crowd, 
scrouge, and the like. 
In general it is obvious that in words so formed there would 
arise a feeling of natural and inherent fitness for the idea expressed. 
Vague conflation of this sort is an easy and tempting method of 
word creation,® and it accounts readily enough for many forms for 
3“Tf I went fust down th’ ladder I could click hold on him and chock 
him over my head, so as he should go squshin’ down the shaft, breakin’ 
his bones at every timberin’” . .. Kipling, “On Greenhow Hill,” in 
Soldiers Three and Military Tales. 
*“ They’ve put us into boots,” said Una, “ Look at my feet—they’re all 
pale white, and my toes are squdged together awfully.” Kipling, “Cold 
Iron,” in Rewards and Fairies. 
5A decade or more ago (see Leon Mead, How Words Grow, XII, 
1902), the London Academy offered prizes for four new words. Among 
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