Pals and Gals

Joyous trans-figuration.

The Twitter feed devoted to a Word of the Day from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake reacquainted me with the particularities (amazing what happens when one's reading is slowed down to a word-by-word pace) of unpacking the portmanteau

alphybettyformed
Finnegans Wake 183.13

Yes it has to do with alphabets but could it not be a joining of the genders, a melding of Alfie and Betty? An Alfred in Betty form?

And so for day 1349
23.08.2010