Made up words Chicken Milk
Chicken Milk: Meaning Water. "As a child I only wanted milk, so my dad gave me water but called it chicken milk." Submitted by Ivan C, New York Rinee Shah

An award-winning illustrator has launched a project which highlights the use of a special lexicon between family members and friends.

Whether it is an inside joke or a ridiculous word that stuck, Rinee Shah, from San Francisco, told Mashable she has already received around 125 submissions in just one week.

Shah organised the project to explore the vernacular phenomenon. Fans sent in examples of made-up words they use, which she illustrates according to the user's definition.

She told Mashable: "Another fun trend I've noticed is that almost 5% of the submissions have been a made up word for remote control. For example, monkeychoke, dobah, channel hopper, schmitzick and kabonger."

Speaking to Buzzfeed, she said the project began as she was watching an old episode of The West Wing.

Shah said: "A few years ago, I did an illustration project called Seinfood, and my favourite part about it was that people were sharing it with their friends and family because of a shared nostalgia from watching the show together.

She added: "I was recently watching an old episode of The West Wing, and one of the characters said a strange word, and then realised that it was probably just a word his mother made up. It occurred to me that that probably happens to people all the time."

The whole project can be seen at Madeupwordsproject.com.

Made up words project knee
Scrundle: Meaning the back of your kneecap. "This word apparently came from the fact that there was no word to describe this body part. I, however, was never told this and simply assumed it was the name for it until I was about 17 and people started picking up on it." Submitted by Tom B, Rochdale, UK Rinee Shah
Made up words project
Yamb: A noun meaning "Yet Another Miscellaneous Bag". For example, "Have you seen my flip flops?" "No, but try that yamb over there behind the couch." Submitted by Eric S, Port Washington, New York Rinee Shah
Made up words shoes
Deli-shoes: An adjective meaning "delicious". For example, "This hamburger is deli-shoes." Submitted by David K, Los Angeles Rinee Shah
Made up words project
Gotchies: Noun meaning underwear. For example, "He stripped down to his gotchies" Submitted by Maura M, Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania Rinee Shah
Made up words project
Mouse Hands: When you stick olives on the tips of your fingers. "When we were kids we used to put black olives on all ten fingertips and called them Mickey Mouse hands. Mouse hands for short." Submitted by Dickie G, San Clemente, California Rinee Shah
Made up words flip flops
Chanks: Spanglish version of the word "chancletas." For example, "Timmy, put on your chanks, we're going to the beach!" Submitted by Billy G, Manhattan Beach, California Rinee Shah
Made up words project
Blorp: A noun/verb meaning a unit of measurement. For example, "May I have a blorp of ketchup?" Submitted by Dave, Illinois Rinee Shah
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