Local palooza-suffixed jabs

January 22nd, 2009 at 08:24am Georgette Braun

Got an e-mail this morning about Scriptapalooza, an 11-year-old annual screenwriting competition.

It piqued my interest, because I used the “palooza” suffix in this story that appeared in today’s paper about “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” which I’ll participate in at the Coronado Jan. 29. I end the story with this sentence: “That’s B-l-a-g-o-j-e-v-i-c-h, as in the man behind C-o-r-r-u-p-t-a-p-a-l-o-o-z-a.”

The Phrase Finder says Rube Goldberg had a cartoon character named “Lala Palooza” in the 1930s, but the word is older than that. The etymology is uncertain. The “American Heritage Dictionary” says a lollapalooza is: “something outstanding of its kind”, but after the Lollapalooza music tour, it’s usually used as a suffix to indicate an extravaganza of some sort. (Hockey-palooza, Bingo-palooza, etc.)”

Care to share any local or worldwide “paloozas” you’ve heard or made up?

How ’bout WallStreetJournal-is-noticing-Rockford-in-a-not-so-flattering-way-palooza.  Or Where-does-the-Rockford-teachers’-union-stand-on-the-Rockford-charter-schools-palooza. Or Protect-us-from-embarrassing-the-police-palooza.

Entry Filed under: words, politics, schools