1. a position on an enemy shoreline captured by troops in advance of an invading force 2. a first achievement that opens the way for further developments; a foothold
I heard this word on NPR the other day and thought it was a nice example of a portmanteau
My personal word of the day is definitely portmanteau, although I don't understand how "beachhead" is an example of one.
Well, that's because it isn't an example of one. :) I was wrong. It's just a lowly compound noun. An example of a portmanteau would be "brunch."
Sorry, I must have been out to brunch on this one.
O.K., so my chain's been pulled, and you're a funny guy.