n. An American portmanteau of the Old English word snow and the latter half of the Japanese word tsunami. Coined by my friend Chris, it describes a snowfall of epic proportions.
While it may be used literally (“Man, Nebraska just got hit with a snownami! They got eight feet of snow!”), it is more frequently used to humorously describe an tiny accumulation of snow. The primary use is an amount purported to have been received by someone who is ditching work, but using the weather as his excuse.
“Where’s Jim?”
“He’s not coming in; North Kansas City got hit with a snownami.”
“Did you hear that Texas got hit with a snownami? Accumulations of up to a quarter of an inch.”
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