What Are Kangaroo Words?
To a linguist, kangaroo words and joey words have nothing to do with Aussie slang. Instead, they come from the idea that mother kangaroos carry their young joeys inside their pouches. In a similar vein, kangaroo words contain joey words within themselves. Here’s what we mean. Kangaroo and joey words
are always synonymous with one another, and the joey word is a shorter version of the longer kangaroo word. One example of a kangaroo word is “action,” as it contains the synonymous joey word “act.” Among many other examples: “discordance”/“discord,” “superb”/“super,” and “devilish”/“evil.” But joey words don’t have to be...
