Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1959
Fantabulous
fantastic fabulous
- Meaning
- Extremely wonderful — an emphatic superlative.
- Source words
- fantastic + fabulous
- Coined by
- collective
- Year
- 1959
Background
Popularised by mid-century advertising copy. Later adopted as the title of a 1968 British game show and a recurring Austin Powers catchphrase.
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
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