Nonword Coinage

Furry authors tend to make up words to make it easier for them to be a slob with descriptions of their characters. "Headfur," for example, describes the hair on top of a furry's head. Of course, their entire body is covered in hair, so to save typing a few extra words such as "the hair on top of his head", they prefer the simpler, more grammatically incorrect "headfur." This can also be done with unnecessary hyphenation, as in "tail-tip". Arguably, "tail tip" is grammatically correct in some instances, but not the way they do it.

''"Shi also stretched a handpaw across him, careful not to touch his still swollen leg or disturb the herbal compress." ''-Taurger's Tail (www.furry.org.au/chakat/Stories/Taurger.htm)

Combining two words together does not always signify a word that can actually be used in proper English. Especially when the two words are mutually exclusive. A paw indicates a hairy hand of an animal, possibly with a missing thumb. A hand is not the same as a paw. I'm willing to excuse stories that describe an animal's extremity as a hand or a paw, but not a "handpaw" or a "footpaw", which is nonsense.