The -licious that bloom in the spring, tra-la!
Stealth-snapped at DSW on Powell Street in San Francisco, where a roving employee unsmilingly informed me I couldn't take photos. (Hah! Too late.)
Meanwhile, just a jalapeño's throw away, Chipotle Mexican Grill was creating some fanciful vocabulary of its own:
I became curious as to the the origins of the generous use of, "icious" and "ication". I wondered if at some point in the distant past these two forms were spead around so as to seem "natural" or acceptable in some way. Here is what I found in the Wikipedia: Highway Beautification Act 1965 ,encouraged scenic enhancement along nation highways; Bubblicious, the first soft,no-face-sticking bubble gum including flavors- Blowout Blue,Sour Mania and the now discontinued Radical Red.
Posted by: Nick | May 08, 2010 at 01:34 AM
Nick: I discussed the etymology of "-licious" and its history as a combining form in a December 2009 post: http://bit.ly/4y1AmG
"-fication" comes from Latin -ficationem, "making" or "doing." As far as I can tell, it's been common in English since the 18th century at least.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | May 08, 2010 at 05:04 PM