mornin' supersleuths,

could you see if you could find a clinical word for this ... as in
granny once had a dog who had a fear of linoleum.  she also was afraid
of icy ground, too, so maybe it would be all slick surfaces that her
paws came in contact with.  if you'd like to offer a made-up word,
granny will accept your funniest substitute.  I found something on the
net that said it was "counterphobia" but that doesn't seem quite right. 
could you find a word that best fits this definition?  thanks!

ever curious,
GB

Good Morning, Granny!

First, let's deal with what it isn't.  You're absolutely correct when
you say that counterphobia doesn't sound right.  It's not even close:

"counterphobia - Deliberately seeking out and exposing oneself to,
rather than avoiding, the object or situation that is consciously or
unconsciously feared."

Counterphobia
http://www.webref.org/psychology/c/counterphobia.htm

I suspect the reference you found relates to "Infinite Jest", in which
one of the characters is so confused by a therapist that he *thinks*
counterphobia is the fear of linoleum.

I think I've come close for you.  A "wobblers" support group on Yahoo
Groups yielded this little tidbit:

"Crockett is very apprehensive about manuvering on the stairs and is
also uncomfortable on slick surfaces like the linoleum in the
kitchen."

Fear of Floors - Floorophobia?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wobblers/message/492

[ Crockett, by the way, is a dog. ]

If "floorophobia" is too general, perhaps "linophobia" will do? 
"Lino" is a synonym for "linoleum":

"lino - n : a floor covering [syn: linoleum]"

Lino
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lino

For a made-up word, I submit that "bustedbuttophobia" is the proper
choice:

bustedbuttophobia - n. - a fear of falling down and busting one's
butt.

"I'd go ice skating with you, but my bustedbuttophobia would kick in
and make us all miserable."

Hope this helps!!

--Missy

Search terms: [ "fear of linoleum" ], [ floor fear ], [ linoleum ]

---

Request for Answer Clarification by badabing-ga on 13 Feb 2003 10:02 PST

hey Missy,

yes, I think she may have incurred a busted butt at one point in her
life, hence her fear.  she would freeze in one position and we'd have
to gather her up and move her off her "slick spot."

indeed "Infinite Jest" was the site I looked at but didn't read it
through.  anyway, cats should be the ones having "counterphobia."

these are all very fine answers but ericynot struck on something with
his traction comment.  drivers can also have this fear of loss of
traction when driving on icy roads.  maybe I should open a new
question and pursue that line of thinking and leave the dog out of the
equation?

thanks so much for your contributions!
GB

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 13 Feb 2003 10:11 PST

Poor puppy!

Just let me know how you want to proceed here.  I can look for other
names if you like.

--Missy

---

Request for Answer Clarification by badabing-ga on 13 Feb 2003 10:37 PST

totally up to you, sweetie.  it's kinda granny's fault for not knowing
the question she wanted answered until it was reframed in a larger
context -- fear of not getting traction.  I'm not sure if there's any
word out there comparable.  you're welcome to try but granny's also
willing to rate you 5 stars on your creativity for this answer.

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 13 Feb 2003 18:54 PST

Hi again!

I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you, I've been tied up
elsewhere!

How about:

Fear of Walking (Basiphobia) + Fear of ice (Cryophobia) =
Basicryophobia (Fear of walking on ice)

Phobias - What's Yours?
http://www.geocities.com/disturbing_universe/phobias.html

I think that's as close as we're going to get to something official!

--Missy

granny knows you have chemical fires to put out and really didn't want
you to hang the moon for $3.  this was a very difficult question and
there may not be a single word for indoor/outdoor inherently
slick/smooth surfaces.  you and the Latin scholars have given granny
ideas to hunt on her own now, so thanks very much.

slickness sickness?

I'd say if that dog of yours is afraid of all slick surfaces, she may
very well have a Friction Addiction.

Linoleuphobia
(and fear of linoleum-type flooring in Africa: Congoleuphobia)

or

Caninolinophobia (not to be confused with onomatopoeia)

You might find something in
http://www.phobialist.com/reverse.html

Owain

From the Latin...

How about: Lubricusaphobia (Fear of slicknes)

Or: Solumaphobia (Fear of floors)

Or maybe:  Glacialisaphobia (Fear of icy things)

Or even:  Labilisaphobia (fear of slippery things)

Vendi Vidi Vici

- ddelphi

The recognised term is 'Canine Lubus'.

(Latin scholars will appreciate that Lubus is a contraction of
'Lubricus Suspiciosus', that is 'suspicion of slippery things'.)

This is certainly not a phobia because no self-respecting pooch wants
to go skidding across a room to the amusement of any other domestic
creatures present such as cats, birds, fish or humans.

Treatment involves covering the linoleum with carpet and this should
be securely fixed with glue, nails and rivets.

A side benefit is that humans will also be less likely to go flying.