Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·1984
Mockumentary
mock documentary
- Meaning
- A fictional film or show styled as a documentary.
- Source words
- mock + documentary
- Coined by
- Rob Reiner
- Year
- 1984
Background
Reiner used it in interviews about *This Is Spinal Tap*. The form existed earlier (Orson Welles, Woody Allen) but lacked a crisp label.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
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