Editing Pompatus

{{Short description|Nonce word}}
'''''Pompatus''''' (or '''''Pompitus''''') ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|m|p|ə|t|ə|s}}) is a [[nonce word]] coined by [[Steve Miller (musician)|Steve Miller]] in his hit single "[[The Joker (Steve Miller Band song)|The Joker]]" (1973).

==Etymology==
The word is probably a corruption of—or imagined variation on—the word "puppetutes", which was itself a coinage, originated by [[Vernon Green]] at the age of 14. Green included the word "puppetutes" in the lyrics of doo-wop song "The Letter" (1954), as performed by him and [[The Medallions]]. "The Letter" also included another original coinage, "pismotality". Presumably in homage to the Medallions' song, Steve Miller used the [[nonce word]]s "epismetology" and "pompatus" in the lyrics of two of his other songs, "Enter Maurice" and "The Conversation", one of which is, like "The Letter", in spoken-word style.

The appealing oddness of the phrase "the pompatus of love" garnered a lot of attention, and inspired its use by others. For example, as the title of [[The Pompatus of Love|a 1996 film]] starring [[Jon Cryer]].<ref name=dope>Adams, Cecil. [https://www.straightdope.com/21342137/in-steve-miller-s-the-joker-what-is-the-pompatus-of-love 'In Steve Miller's "The Joker," what is "the pompatus of love"?']. ''The Straight Dope'', 1996.</ref>

==Lyrics==
The lyrics of "The Joker" include the quatrain:
:Some people call me the space cowboy.
:Yeah! Some call me the gangster of love.
:Some people call me Maurice,
:'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love.

Each line references a track on a previous Miller album: "Space Cowboy" on ''[[Brave New World (Steve Miller Band album)|Brave New World]]'' (1969); "[[Gangster of Love]]" on ''[[Sailor (Steve Miller Band album)|Sailor]]'' (1968); and "Enter Maurice" on ''[[Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden]]'' (1972), which includes the lines:<ref name=dope/>
: My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice
: so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology
: in your ear and speak to you of the pompatus of love.

Although Miller claims he invented the words "epismetology" (a [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]] of the word [[epistemology]]) and "pompatus", both are variants of words which Miller most likely heard in a song by [[Vernon Green]] called "The Letter," which was recorded by the Los Angeles doo-wop group [[Medallions band|The Medallions]] in 1954.

Green's "The Letter" as performed by the Medallions had the lines:<ref name=dope/>
: Oh my darling, let me whisper
: sweet words of ''pizmotality''
: and discuss the ''puppetutes'' of love.

Green describes the lyrics as a description of his dream woman.<ref name=dope/> "''Pizmotality'' described words of such secrecy that they could only be spoken to the one you loved", Green explained. He coined the term ''puppetutes'' "to mean a secret paper-doll fantasy figure who would be my everything and bear my children".<ref name=dope/>

In 2019, Miller appeared on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]]'' and explained that the word "pompatus" came from "an old [[doo-wop]] song" that included a term he misunderstood as "pompatus", and said that for years he did not know what it meant whenever someone asked him about it.<ref>{{cite video |title=Steve Miller Reveals How He Made Up "Pompatus" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMLKNFdOv1o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/SMLKNFdOv1o| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|publisher=The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon |date=October 10, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==''Pompatus'' in pop culture==
Because of its peculiarity, the word ''pompatus'' has secured a niche in 20th century [[popular culture|pop culture]]. [[Wolfman Jack]] frequently referenced the phrase and there is a sound clip of him using the line within the song "[[Clap for the Wolfman]]" by [[The Guess Who]].  ''[[The Pompatus of Love]]'', a 1996 film starring [[Jon Cryer]], featured four men discussing a number of assorted themes, including attempts to determine the meaning of the phrase.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q7757712|id=tt0117357|title=The Pompatus of Love}}</ref> Jon Cryer was also a writer of the film, and describes finding out the meaning of the phrase during a phone call with Vernon Green in his autobiography "So That Happened" in chapter 22, page 217. 

Humor columnist [[Dave Barry]] frequently refers to the song line as a source of comedic value, particularly in his 1997 book ''[[Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs]]''. 'Pompatus' is used by [[Michael Ondaatje]] in his 2001 book ''[[Anil's Ghost]]''. [[Stephen King]] uses the word in his 2006 novel ''[[Lisey's Story]]''. [[Tim Dorsey]] uses the word in his 2010 novel, ''Gator a-Go-Go''.  It was the subject of the October 9, 2011 ''[[Over the Hedge]]'' comic strip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2011/10/9|title=Over the Hedge by T Lewis and Michael Fry for Oct 9, 2011|via=GoComics.com|date=9 October 2011|access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://maurice.tokezone.net/ "The Joker" lyrics and biography] at the Tokezone

[[Category:Popular culture neologisms]]
[[Category:1973 neologisms]]