Date:  Tue, 11 Mar 1997 08:36:48 -0500
From:  Jesse T Sheidlower <jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PANIX.COM>
Subject: Re: recently attested items

>
> 2) on mock- or faux-Spanish (no problemo, etc.): another formation I've
> come across recently is the superlative-forming -mondo, e.g. the use of
> both "correctamundo" and "perfectamundo" in a currently-airing radio
> commercial for RCA. I tried tracking them down via Nexis, and traced the
> former back to 1989, where the first (of 19) citations included a reference to
> the popularizing of the term by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Evidently,
> though, "correctamundo" has outlived Raffy, Leo, Mike and Don.
> "Perfectamundo", on the other hand, had just two cites, the earlier in 1992.
> Did this suffix derive from a perverse blend of -mente and mundo? Best not to
> know, perhaps.

Pushing this back a bit, I think this was a regular usage of the Fonz,
on Happy Days. Can't find anything in writing right now, though.

Jesse Sheidlower
<jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]panix.com>