GUESTAGE NOUN (POLITICS)

A foreign national held as a hostage (but called a 'guest') in Iraq or Kuwait during the period following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Etymology: Formed by telescoping guest and hostage to make a blend. History and Usage: This is a name which the hostages themselves invented in about September 1990. It remained in use until after they were allowed to return home in December 1990, but did not gain the enthusiastic support from the media that such words might usually enjoy, and is unlikely to survive in the language (except, perhaps, in historical accounts of the Gulf War) now that the motivation for it no longer exists. In his second television appearance with the 'guestages', as they had come to be known, he [Saddam Hussein] had not bargained for a forthright English woman. Independent 3 Sept. 1990, p. 5