Mellowdrama struck me initially as a potential eggcorn (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/), but I googled it and it looks like the vast majority of hits have to do with a band or a theatre group.  I didn't see any naive uses in the five pages of hits that I checked.  The girl's use that you mention may indicate that it is a potential eggcorn, but not one that's very widespread yet.

Herb

Herbert F. W. Stahlke, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of English
Ball State University
Muncie, IN  47306
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________________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan van Druten [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: December 8, 2009 8:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Words that are their own opposites

"Sick" fits with the slang terms.

And just this morning I heard a girl ask her friend if "mellowdrama"
meant it was a laid back performance.  I laughed back to my
classroom--never having thought of that word that way.



On Dec 8, 2009, at 2:31 PM, Larry Beason wrote:

> I wonder how many slang terms fit into this category, such as the
> use of
> "bad" to mean something that is essentially commendable.  Or the
> use of
> "bomb" to mean something that fails ("That movie bombed") or something
> that is good ("She's the bomb.")  I have a feeling such
> reformations of
> 'bad words' reflect the sort of shock value and group-bonding that we
> often find in slang.
>
> 'Bale' might fit this category too: 1. To gather together ("We baled
> hay").  2.  To leave ("Halfway through the party, we baled.")
>
> Larry
>
> ____________________________
> Larry Beason, Associate Professor
> Director of Composition
> University of South Alabama
> Mobile, AL 36688-0002
> Office: 251-460-7861
> FAX: 251-461-1517
>
>
>>>> Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> 12/8/2009 1:01 PM >>>
> On a less weighty note, my colleague Todd Berliner has been collecting
> words
> with seemingly contradictory definitions. I've copied his list below.
> Can
> anyone supply further examples?
>
> *Words That Are Their Own Opposites*
>
> *oversight*
>    1. Watchful care or management; supervision.
>    2. a failure to notice something. An unintentional omission or
> mistake.  an error
> "Because there was no oversight there was an oversight."
>
> *presently*
> 1. In a short time; soon
> 2. At this time or period; now
> "He will do it presently, because he can't do it presently."
>
> *cull*
> 1. To gather; collect
> 2. To remove rejected members or parts from
> "We culled the chickens so that they would not be culled"
>
> *traffic*
> 1. passage
> 2. stoppage
> "Because there was so much traffic there was no traffic"
>
> *fearsome*
> 1. Causing or capable of causing fear
> 2. Fearful; timid.
> "Because we weren't fearsome enough, we were fearsome"
>
> *temper*
> 1. a tendency to become angry or out of control
> 2. Calmness of mind or emotions; composure
> "He had a temper because he often lost his temper"
>
> *let*
> 1. to not prevent or hinder
> 2. to hinder (as in tennis “a let”)
> "Let him go to the movies; don't let him from going"
>
> *bolt*
> 1. affix, attach, connect
> 2. to flee
> "They bolted because they weren't bolted."
>
> *terrific*
> 1. Very bad or unpleasant; frightful: a terrific headache
> 2. Very good or fine; splendid: a terrific tennis player
> "It was a terrific experience because there was nothing terrific about
> it."
>
> *cleave*
>    1. to join together
>    2. to break apart
> "We cleaved them so tightly that no one could cleave them."
>
>  I can think of an addition to Todd's list:
>
> *awful*: 1. Awe-inspiring. 2. Disdain-provoking. "The mystic thought
> it
> would be god-awful not to experience God's awful presence in the
> hereafter."
>
>
> and maybe also:
>
> *unlockable: *1. Not lockable. 2. Able to be unlocked. "Before we
> locked the
> door, it seemed unlockable; then it seemed unlockable.
>
> Any others?
>
> Dick Veit
>
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