Sometimes we use port manteau words intentionally, sometimes they use us.
More importantly, port manteau words are sexy. The popular musical television show "Glee" used port manteaus to title two of its first three episodes : "Showmance" and "Acafellas." Will Ferrel's "strategery," which he used to mock President George W. Bush on Saturday Night Live, is an unforgettable crystallization of the left's view of Bush in the first decade of the twenty first century. Today, Sarah Palin apparently coined a new port manteau, "refudiate," which was tweeted then scrubbed (in favor of "reject) after it was reported by several websites.
The all time most memorable port manteau, for me, was the one Scottie Pippen coined after his teammate, Michael Jordan, retired from basketball. When Pippen was asked what it would be like for him and for the rest of the Chicago Bulls to play without Jordan, he said it would be a "dramastic" change. Ridunkulous.
Port manteau words are everywhere. Word nerds unite: help me collect and enjoy them.